Race Relations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements are in place to ensure that bodies or organisations within the responsibility of his Office comply with the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Hutton) today.

Cleaning Contract

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission what the annual value of the contract for cleaning the House has been in each year since the last contract was signed; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: I have been asked to reply.
	The main cleaning contract for both Houses of Parliament is worth about £2.2 million per annum of which 60 per cent. (£1.32 million) falls to the House of Commons. The contract commenced in September 2003, and runs for five years.

Domestic Violence

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Solicitor-General what Government policy is on prosecutions for domestic violence; and what guidelines have been issued to prosecutors on the subject.

Mike O'Brien: Stopping domestic violence and bringing perpetrators to justice is a priority for the CPS. In February 2005, it published its updated policy for prosecuting cases of domestic violence. The policy document explains the role of the Crown Prosecution Service, how prosecution decisions are made, and gives information on aspects of the legal process. It is available on the CPS website.
	At the same time as the policy was published, the CPS issued revised detailed guidance to its prosecutors. The guidance reflects increased emphasis on the safety of victims and children, concentrates on effective evidence gathering to build strong cases and advises on proceeding where a victim is unwilling to give evidence.

BMG Consulting

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many questionnaires have been issued by BMG Consulting on behalf of his Department; and what the cost has been of this exercise.

Jim Fitzpatrick: BMG have sent 8,000 questionnaires to individuals across England as part of a national survey of public satisfaction with local government and its services, they are undertaking for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).
	BMG will be paid £36,000 plus VAT by ODPM for the national survey of public-satisfaction with local government and its services. This survey is currently in the field.

Brownfield Land

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Government's definition is of brownfield land.

Yvette Cooper: Annex C of Planning Policy Guidance Note 3, Housing sets out the Government's definition of previously developed land (sometimes referred to as 'brownfield land'), for the purposes for planning for housing and the collection of data on previously developed land for the National Land Use Database.

Extended Home Ownership Scheme

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people in (a) the London borough of Haringey and (b) Hornsey and Wood Green constituency he estimates will be eligible for his Department's extended home ownership programme; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently consulting on the details of our proposals for making our low cost home ownership schemes simpler and fairer, as set out in the consultation document 'HomeBuy—Expanding the Opportunity to Own' (a copy of which is available in the Library of the House).
	We will make our decisions in the light of responses to consultation and the recommendations from the Regional Housing Boards. Locations will also reflect the quality and value for money of bids received under the programme.

House Prices

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average house price was in each Government office region in (a) 1991, (b) 2003 and (c) the latest year for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Data are not available for Government office regions on a consistent basis before 1993 and later for the north-west Government office region.
	
		Mix-adjusted house price by Government office region £
		
			 Government office region 1993 2004 
		
		
			 North-east 51,569 121,260 
			 North-west n/a 133,647 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 55,325 131,279 
			 East midlands 54,540 151,339 
			 West midlands 60,032 154,758 
			 East 67,463 197,187 
			 London 83,109 257,266 
			 South-east 77,798 227,726 
			 South-west 61,714 191,426 
		
	
	Source:
	Survey of Mortgage Lenders
	Mix-adjusted average house prices from 1993 for Government office regions are published as Live Table 507 on the ODPM website at:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_housing/documents/page/odpm_house_604092.xls.
	Prior to 1993, simple average house price data are available for Standard Statistical Regions and are published as Live Table 512 on the ODPM website at:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_housing/documents/page/odpm_house_604071.xls.

Local Authority Staff

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff were employed by each local authority per 1,000 population in the last year for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

Park and Ride Schemes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the location is of each park and ride scheme in operation in England; and on what date the construction of each was approved by the relevant government office for the region;
	(2)  what the location is of each proposed park and ride scheme that has been given approval by the relevant government office for the region.

Yvette Cooper: The Government do not collect information on the number or location of existing or proposed park and ride schemes. Government offices for the regions do not approve park and ride schemes. Their planning role is to act on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, the First Secretary of State on land use planning matters in the region.

Public Conveniences

John Hemming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many public toilets were available in each (a) unitary and (b) district council area on 1 January (i) 2000, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003 and (iv) 2004.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 June 2005, Official Report, columns 562–63W. I have deposited in the Library of the House a table that has been obtained from Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's analyses of commercial and industrial property data held by the Valuation Office Agency.
	The table gives the number of public conveniences as at 1 October 2000 and 1 April for 2002, 2003 and 2004. No data prior to 2000 and for 2001 are currently available.

Social Housing Grant

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what representations he received before the abolition of the Local Authority Social Housing Grant; and from whom;
	(2)  what representations he received, and from whom, on extending the transitional arrangements put in place to oversee the abolition of the Local Authority Social Housing Grant.

Yvette Cooper: A summary of responses to the consultation 'The Way Forward for Housing Capital Finance' was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 19 May 2004. The summary includes, among other things, details of consultees who responded to the suggestion about the future of Local Authority Social Housing Grant (LASHG) in that paper. In addition, representations were received prior to the abolition of LASHG from the following right hon. and hon. Members for:
	Barking
	Bedford
	Bristol East
	Bromley and Chislehurst
	Bury St. Edmunds
	Cheltenham
	Chester City
	Coventry South
	Dagenham
	Dewsbury
	East Surrey
	Forest of Dean
	Great Grimsby
	Henley
	Ipswich
	Knowsley North and Sefton East
	Lichfield
	Mid Bedfordshire
	Regents Park and Kensington North
	Reigate
	Runnymede and Weybridge
	Saffron Walden
	South Cambridgeshire
	Spelthorne
	Staffordshire Moorlands
	Stratford-on-Avon
	Tonbridge and Malling
	Wealdon
	Welwyn Hatfield
	Witney
	Worthing West
	Yeovil
	and
	Baroness Maddock;
	Mark Watts MEP;
	and the following organisations, some of whom made representations through right hon. and hon. Members:
	Apex Group
	Aquarius Housing Consultancy
	Association of London Government
	Babergh District Council
	Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council
	Bedford Borough Council
	Breckland District Council
	Bromley London Borough Council
	Bromsgrove District Council
	Cheltenham Borough Council
	Cambridge City Council
	Chester City Council
	Chester Housing Partnership
	Christchurch Borough Council
	Corporation of London Council
	Daventry District Council
	East of England Regional Housing Forum
	East Hampshire District Council
	East Lindsey District Council
	Eden District Council
	Fareham Borough Council
	Field Lane Foundation
	Forest of Dean District Council
	Fylde Borough Council
	Guildford Borough Council
	Havant Borough Council
	Havebury Housing Partnership
	Hyde Housing Association Group
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Lichfield City Council
	Linx Housing Association
	Local Government Association
	Maidstone Borough Council
	Malvern Hills District Council
	Mid Sussex District Council
	Moat Housing Group
	Moorlands Housing Association
	National Housing Federation
	Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council
	North Cornwall District Council
	North East Lincolnshire Council
	North Hertfordshire District Council
	North Yorkshire County Council
	Orwell Housing Association
	Penwith District Council
	Reading Borough Council
	Redditch Borough Council
	Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
	Restormel Borough Council
	Royal Borough of Kensington And Chelsea
	Runnymede Borough Council
	Rural Housing Trust
	Rushcliffe Borough Council
	Slough Borough Council
	South Cambridgeshire District Council
	South Norfolk District Council
	South Oxfordshire District Council
	South Shropshire District Council
	South Somerset District Council
	Spelthorne Borough Council
	Spelthorne Housing Association
	St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
	Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
	Stratford-on-Avon District Council
	Suffolk Housing Society
	Surrey Community Development Trust
	Sutton London Borough Council
	Swale Borough Council
	Swanbridge Housing Association
	Swindon Borough Council
	Test Valley Borough Council
	Thames Valley Housing Association
	Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
	Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
	Tynedale District Council
	Uttlesford District Council
	Waverley Borough Council
	Wealden District Council
	Welwyn Hatfield District Council
	West Devon Homes
	West Dorset District Council
	West Kent Housing Association
	Westminster City Council
	West Oxfordshire District Council
	Weymouth and Portland Borough Council
	Wychavon District Council
	My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister subsequently received representations about transitional arrangements following the abolition of Local Authority Social Housing Grant from the following right hon. and hon. Members for:
	Barking
	Chelmsford West
	Dagenham
	Ipswich
	Kingston and Surbiton
	Maldon and Chelmsford East
	Mid Norfolk
	Mid Worcestershire
	North East Bedfordshire
	Rayleigh
	St. Albans
	Stalybridge and Hyde
	Sunderland South
	South West Norfolk
	West Suffolk
	West Worcestershire
	and the following organisations, some of whom made representations through right hon. and hon. Members:
	Ashton Pioneer Homes
	Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council
	Bedford Borough Council
	Breckland District Council
	Canterbury City Council
	Cardinal Hume Centre
	Chelmsford Borough Council
	East Lindsey District Council
	Elmbridge Borough Council
	Hertfordshire Housing Forum
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Kennet District Council
	North Lincolnshire Council
	Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames
	Runnymede Borough Council
	St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
	South Hams District Council
	South Somerset District Council
	Suffolk County Council
	Sunderland City Metropolitan Borough Council
	Surrey Community Development Trust
	Surrey Local Government Association
	Tandridge District Council
	Tewkesbury MCTi Partnership
	Tewkesbury Borough Council
	Tower Hamlets London Borough Council
	Waverley Borough Council
	Westminster City Council
	West Wiltshire District Council
	Woodstock Town Council
	Wychavon District Council

Surplus Land

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of houses to be built on surplus NHS sites transferred to his Department will be affordable homes.

Yvette Cooper: The first tranche of 67 surplus hospital sites transferred from the Department of Health to English Partnerships on 6 April 2005. Other surplus sites will transfer to English Partnerships. Residential housing development, including the provision for a mix of tenures will take place where sites are assessed as suitable. Such decisions will be made on a site by site basis taking account of local development plans and local needs. It is estimated that the total portfolio of 96 sites transferring to English Partnerships has the potential to deliver about 15,000 new homes, at least 5,000 of them affordable.

Air Transport (Emissions)

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) Kyoto basket emissions are estimated to have come from air transport flights taking off from and landing in UK airports in 2003.

Margaret Beckett: pursuant to the reply, 26 May 2005, Official Report, c.179W
	The original answer mixed units of million tonnes carbon equivalent per year (MtCeq/yr) and million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent per year (MtCO 2 eq/yr). This resulted in an incorrect percentage to be calculated for the Kyoto basket emissions. All units are now presented as MtCO 2 eq/yr. A revised table is given as follows.
	
		
			  (a) CO 2 (b) GHG 
		
		
			 Emissions from domestic aviation million tonnes of carbon equivalent (MtCO 2  eq/yr) 2.11 2.14 
			 Total UK emissions inventory (MtCO 2  eq/yr) 572.2 665.8 
			 UK domestic aviation as a proportion of total emissions (%) 0.37 0.32 
		
	
	The original answer also contained an error in the units in the final sentence of text. The text referred to MtCeq/yr, this should have been presented as MtCO 2 eq/yr. The rest of the answer remains correct.

Badgers (Tuberculosis)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to allow (a) land owners and (b) land occupiers to test badger setts humanely to ensure they are tuberculosis free.

Ben Bradshaw: There is currently no reliable diagnostic test for TB in live badgers. We are funding research into the development of a number of alternative immunological assays for the detection of M. bovis infection in badgers at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency. Further evaluation is being undertaken and results should be available by the end of 2005.
	Post-mortem inspection and laboratory culture of M. bovis remains the most sensitive method of diagnosis.

Badgers (Tuberculosis)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure areas, with particular reference to North Yorkshire, remain tuberculosis free in their cattle population.

Ben Bradshaw: We announced new measures last November to tighten surveillance and reduce risk of TB spreading to new areas. These include changes to testing frequency and the imposition of movement restrictions immediately a test becomes overdue from February 2005.
	The "Government Strategic Framework for the Sustainable Control of Bovine Tuberculosis in Great Britain" was published on 1 March. Specific disease control policies will be tailored to reflect the regional variation in disease and risk, and adjusted to make best use of emerging scientific findings.
	In addition, we are also considering a proposal for pre-movement testing in Great Britain, developed by a farmer-chaired stakeholder group. The group delivered its report on 29 April, and published on DEFRA website on 1 June. The group's recommendations will be carefully considered.
	Great Britain's pre-movement testing policy would need agreement from the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly. We aim to consult later this year on the detailed proposal.

Insects

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the insect population in England; and what the predicted numbers are in the event of a (i) one per cent., (ii) two per cent. and (iii) three per cent. increase in current average temperatures due to climate change.

Elliot Morley: I am not aware of an estimate of the insect population in England.
	Scenarios of climate change published by the UK Climate Impacts Programme indicate that in future, the UK is likely to experience warmer, wetter winters, and hotter, probably drier, summers, with extreme high temperatures and rainfall events likely to occur more often. A collaborative research project led by English Nature ("Modelling Natural Resource Responses to Climate Change"—Monarch) used these climate change scenarios to investigate impacts on the UK's flora and fauna.
	While there is no assessment of total numbers, the project notes that as the climate warms, those insect species suited to warmer conditions will spread north. Those species suited to cooler conditions may become extinct in Britain. It is unlikely that insects will become more abundant overall under possible climate change scenarios. Some species may increase in number, while others will decline, according to their temperature and humidity preferences and changes in their habitats. Non-climate factors (such as changes in land-use, and in the populations of insect predators) will also have a significant influence on insect populations in future.

Nuclear Waste

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's plan for the long-term storage of nuclear waste.

Elliot Morley: The UK Government and devolved administrations set up the independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) in 2003, under the "Managing Radioactive Waste Safely" programme. It's task is to provide a recommendation on the option, or combination of options, for the long-term management of the UK's higher level radioactive waste.
	CoRWM launched the second phase of its Public and Stakeholder Engagement consultation programme in April 2005. The committee have evaluated 15 options and is now consulting on its proposal to carry out further assessments on a shortlist of four:
	Deep geological disposal
	Phased deep geological disposal
	Near-surface disposal of short-lived waste
	Long-term interim storage
	CoRWM will finalise its shortlist of options for assessment, in light of its consultations, by July 2005. It is due to provide its recommendations to Ministers, for their consideration, in July 2006.

Veterinary Medicines Directorate

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about the new dispensing regulation proposed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

Margaret Beckett: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is developing new Regulations setting out controls on all aspects of veterinary medicines. These will take forward relevant recommendations made in the Marsh and Competition Commission reports on the dispensing of veterinary prescription only medicines (POMs) in the UK, implement an amending EU Directive and replace the existing voluminous and outdated UK legislation on veterinary medicines with a single set of Regulations.
	The new Regulations contain a number of provisions that relate to the supply and dispensing of veterinary medicines, including proposed new distribution categories. We have received correspondence about issues relating to some of these and other provisions from a number of individuals including veterinary surgeons and animal owners/keepers.
	During the initial stages of developing the proposals, officials at the VMD consulted informally with a wide range of interest groups. Following further development, a formal consultation package was published on the VMD website on 4 January 2005 and a letter sent to some 350 interested organisations and individuals. Consultees were allowed four months, until 5 May, to comment. Over 300 responses have been received and the comments are currently being considered and will be taken into account in finalising the draft Regulations. The VMD has kept interested parties informed of developments on key issues by publishing a series of reaction notes and has arranged public meetings on 21 and 22 June to discuss the outcome of the formal consultation. The consultation package remains available on the VMD website www.vmd.gov.uk under "Consultations" "Previous".

Public Order Act

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have occurred under sections (a) 18, (b) 19, (c) 20, (d) 21 and (e) 23 of the Public Order Act 1986 in each year since 2000; and how many convictions resulted, broken down by subsection under which each occurred.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table show the number of defendants prosecuted for an offence or offences contrary to sections 18–21 and 23 of the Public Order Act 1986 for the period 2000–04. The relevant statistics are recorded by reference to the year in which cases were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police. There is no table provided for 2005 as no prosecutions have resulted, to date, from cases referred to the CPS by the police in 2005. It is not possible to specify the subsections concerned in each case as this information is not held centrally.
	
		
			 Section Defendants convicted Defendants prosecuted 
		
		
			 2000   
			 18 0 0 
			 19 4 2 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 2 1 
			 Both 19 and 23 2 1 to date (other case ongoing) 
			 2001   
			 18 0 0 
			 19 1 0 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 0 0 
			 Both 19 and 23 1 1 (only convicted of s 23) 
			
			 2002   
			 18 0 0 
			 19 0 0 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 0 0 
			 19, 21 and 23 1 1 
			
			 2003   
			 18 0 0 
			 19 5 All 5 ongoing 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 0 0 
			 Both 18 and 23 1 Ongoing 
			 Both 19 and 23 1 Ongoing 
			 19, 21 and 23 1 Ongoing 
			
			 2004   
			 18 3 All 3 ongoing 
			 19 2 Both ongoing 
			 20 0 0 
			 21 0 0 
			 23 0 0

Ofcom

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what guidelines Ofcom work to when deciding whether to investigate complaints made against television programmes; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many complaints were received by Ofcom concerning the programme, "Jerry Springer The Opera"; what investigations took place into the programme; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: The matters raised are the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Television Licence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many TV licence inspectors there were in London in each year since 1997.

James Purnell: The BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system and TV Licensing carries out the day to day administration under contract to the Corporation. I have therefore asked the BBC's Head of Revenue Management to consider the question raised by the hon. Member and to write to her direct, placing a copy of the reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Defence Logistics Organisation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecasted estimated annual running costs were of the (a) Medical Supplies Agency and (b) Warship Supply Agency if it had operated as a stand-alone agency.

Adam Ingram: The estimated annual running costs for the Medical Supplies Agency(not including Stock Consumption of £40.5 million) for financial year 2004–05 are £28.5million. This is extracted from MSA Annual Accounts, which are in the process of being audited by the National Audit Office and therefore, may be subject to change.
	Had the MSA continued operating as an Agency the estimated running costs (again not including Stock Consumption) for FY 2005–06 are £21.5 million.
	The Warship Support Agency's net operating costs for 2004–05 were some £2,664 million. This is also taken from the Agency's Annual Accounts, which are being audited by the National Audit Office and therefore may be subject to change.
	Had the WSA continued operating as an Agency the estimated running costs for FY 2005–06 are £2,623 million.

Potton Island

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the former defence base at Potton Island, near Southend, is used for; whether consideration has been given for its release for a non-military purpose; what assessment has been made of impediments to a non-military use arising from his Department's use of the land; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: Potton Island continues to be part of the group of islands that make up the Test and Evaluation Ranges at Shoeburyness and is used as part of the safety zone for the testing that takes place at the Ranges. A significant area of Potton Island is, however, leased for farming. Potton Island has been included in the Land Quality Assessment that is being carried out on the whole of Shoeburyness. Once the information from this assessment is available the future of the site will be reviewed.

Internet

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated number of people per 1,000 population is that (a) own a home computer, (b) have access to the internet via normal telephone line and (c) have access to the internet via broadband in each London borough.

Alun Michael: The information is as follows:
	(a) In the latest Consumer Durables survey by ONS in 2002–03, 54 per cent. of households owned a home computer. This information is not available at a London borough level.
	(b) and (c) The following table shows the percentage of households that have a dial-up internet connection or a broadband connection for each of the London boroughs.
	
		
			 London borough Percentage of households with a dial-up internet connection Percentage of households with a broadband internet connection 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 31.8 21.1 
			 Barnet 38.0 26.6 
			 Bexley 35.5 23.6 
			 Brent 34.9 26.3 
			 Bromley 37.3 25.3 
			 Camden 39.9 26.5 
			 City of London 43.9 31.8 
			 Croydon 38.2 25.0 
			 Ealing 36.7 27.3 
			 Enfield 35.9 24.1 
			 Greenwich 35.0 23.2 
			 Hackney 36.0 23.8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 37.5 29.3 
			 Haringey 38.1 25.3 
			 Harrow 37.0 26.4 
			 Havering 35.8 21.8 
			 Hillingdon 36.8 24.7 
			 Hounslow 38.0 25.3 
			 Islington 38.1 25.3 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 39.8 28.8 
			 Kingston upon Thames 40.1 26.5 
			 Lambeth 37.6 27.4 
			 Lewisham 36.7 25.1 
			 Merton 39.5 26.5 
			 Newham 33.2 22.9 
			 Redbridge 37.0 24.5 
			 Richmond on Thames 42.1 28.3 
			 Southwark 35.7 25.8 
			 Button 38.1 25.3 
			 Tower Hamlets 34.0 26.5 
			 Waltham Forest 36.3 24.1 
			 Wandsworth 38.7 30.8 
			 Westminster 40.2 26.8 
		
	
	Source:
	Point Topic

Export Control and Non-proliferation Directorate

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimated cost savings were cited by ASE Consulting in the report which considered privatising the Export Control and Non-proliferation Directorate; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The report focussed on whether outsourcing as a means of service delivery was compatible with the executive functions of the Export Control Organisation and as such did not set out a detailed business case containing cost savings.

MG Rover

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which parties other than the MG Rover management team and his Department were informed that MG Rover had entered administration before the Secretary of State declared the insolvency on national television on Thursday 7 April; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 June 2005
	Tony Woodley (TGWU) and Derek Simpson (Amicus), were present when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was informed of the Directors decision to call in administrators and make a statement. Representatives of No. 10, and HM Treasury were also present.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid in costs to Raleys Solicitors since the inception of the vibration white finger and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compensation scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The total costs paid to Raleys solicitors are as follows:
	
		Total solicitors costs paid 1
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 38.8 
			 Vibration white finger 7.3 
		
	
	(4) Solicitor's costs include VAT on solicitor's profit costs and disbursements, but exclude generic costs (which are paid to those solicitors involved in the initial litigation and in co-ordinating the claims handling framework).

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases have received (a) interim settlements and (b) full and final settlements under the Vendside and Union of Democratic Mineworkers' chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger schemes.

Malcolm Wicks: The numbers of payments and settlements under the Vendside and Union of Democratic Mineworkers' schemes are as follows:
	
		
			 Policy Interim payments(5) Settled by payment Settled by denial/withdrawal Total settled 
		
		
			 COPD 2,852 15,351 1,743 17,094 
			 VWF 11,140 14,465 5,300 19,765 
			 Total 13,992 29,816 7,043 36,859 
		
	
	(5) Interim payments reflects the "number of claimants" who have received an interim payment, rather than the number of payments made (some cases receive more than one interim).

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid in costs under the Union of Democratic Mineworkers and Vendside scheme for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Wicks: The total costs paid by year under the Union of Democratic Mineworkers/Vendside schemes are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(6) Vibration white finger 
		
		
			 1999 — 0.7 
			 2000 0.1 0.9 
			 2001 1.1 2.8 
			 2002 3.8 2.0 
			 2003 11.1 2.9 
			 2004 9.2 1.7 
			 2005 4.1 0.7 
			 Total 29.4 11.6 
		
	
	(6) Solicitor's costs include VAT on solicitor's profit costs and disbursements, but exclude generic costs (which are paid to those solicitors involved in the initial litigation and in coordinating the claims handling framework).

Turkey

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards Turkey's accession to the European Union.

Douglas Alexander: The EU agreed at the European Council in December 2004 to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005 provided that Turkey brought into force six pieces of outstanding legislation and signed the Protocol extending the Ankara Agreement to the 10 new member states.
	All six pieces of legislation are now in force, and we expect the Protocol to be signed soon. The European Council on Friday unanimously adopted conclusions which "referred to its conclusions of December 2004 on enlargement and highlighted the need to implement them fully". The position is therefore clear. Provided it meets the conditions, accession negotiations with Turkey should open on 3 October.

Craig Alden

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the family of Craig Alden.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 20 June 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with Mrs. Alden; Craig's mother; and her then Member of Parliament, the former Member for Cambridgeshire, North-West (Sir Brian Mawhinney) in April 2004. The Foreign Secretary has since been regularly updated on this case. Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials maintain a regular dialogue with Craig's family and have twice met with Mrs. Alden in the last four months.

European Constitutional Treaty

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the oral statement of 6 June 2005, Official Report, column 1005, on the EU constitutional treaty, if he will list the articles of the Maastricht treaty under which the European Defence Agency was established; and what the basis was for his statement that the European Defence Agency is not in the EU constitutional treaty, with particular reference to article I-41(3) of that treaty.

Douglas Alexander: The European Defence Agency was formally established on 12 July 2004 by a unanimous decision by Heads of State and Government. It was established under the Council Joint Action 2004/551/CFSP on the basis of article 14 of the treaty on the European Union (Maastricht).
	The establishment of the EDA is referred to in the text of the constitutional treaty (article IV/438). If and when the constitutional treaty comes into force it will provide a new legal base for the EDA: unless and until that time the Council Joint Action is sufficient legal base.

Turkey (EU Accession)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the Netherlands and France voting against the EU Constitution on the prospect for the accession of Turkey to the EU.

Douglas Alexander: The European Council unanimously adopted conclusions on 17 June which
	"referred to its conclusions of June and December 2004 on enlargement and highlighted the need to implement them fully."
	The December 2004 European Council agreed to open accession negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005 provided that Turkey brought into force six pieces of outstanding legislation and signed the Protocol extending the Ankara Agreement to the 10 new member states. The position is therefore clear. Provided it meets the conditions, accession negotiations with Turkey should open on 3 October.

Air Transport (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many flights there were (a) from and (b) to (i) Gatwick, (ii) Heathrow, (iii) Stansted and (iv) London City airport in each of the last five years.

Karen Buck: The table shows the number of air transport movements to and from Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted and London City airport for each of the last five years.
	
		Number of flights at UK airports: 2000–04 Thousand
		
			 To: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Gatwick 126 122 117 117 120 
			 Heathrow 230 229 230 228 235 
			 Stansted 72 75 76 84 88 
			 London City 25 27 26 24 27 
			 From:  
			 Gatwick 126 122 117 117 121 
			 Heathrow 230 229 230 229 235 
			 Stansted 72 75 77 85 89 
			 London City 24 27 26 24 27

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government are taking to ensure that green belt land is preserved in relation to the building of Crossrail facilities in Romford.

Derek Twigg: In developing the Crossrail route Cross London Rail Links Limited have sought to minimise its impact on green belt land. The Environmental Statement prepared for Crossrail makes it clear that the impacts of Crossrail are outweighed by its benefits, and that the impacts—though rightly important to those affected—are overall small for a project the size of Crossrail. While a small strip of approximately 4.3 hectares of green belt land is needed for a dive under at Romford, to allow Crossrail trains to cross the Great Eastern Main Line, the proposed maintenance depot at Romford will be located on a brownfield site.

North-west Airports

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many aircraft used (a) Blackpool, (b) Manchester and (c) Liverpool airport in each of the last three years.

Karen Buck: The following table shows number of air transport movements at Blackpool, Manchester and Liverpool airport for each of the last three years.
	
		Number of flights at UK airports: 2002–04 Thousand
		
			 Total 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Blackpool 8 9 10 
			 Manchester 178 192 208 
			 Liverpool 33 39 40

Railways

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) specialist locomotives and (b) other items of rolling stock are in use to facilitate the maintenance of the railways; and what change there has been in the numbers of each in each of the last 10 years.

Derek Twigg: This is an operational matter for Network Rail. Network Rail will respond directly to the hon. Member.

Railways

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to return the national rail network to public ownership.

Derek Twigg: The Government have no plans to return the national rail network to public ownership. Both public and private money is benefiting the railway. Re-nationalisation would not only mean covering the costs of buying back the railway, but also losing that private source of money.
	Following the Rail Review, the "Future of Rail" White Paper set out a new streamlined structure based on the principle of public and private partnership, recognising rail's importance as a vital public service specified by the Government and delivered by the private sector.

South Wales-London Rail Link

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government have evaluated the case for a high-speed rail link between South Wales and London.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 20 June 2005
	No. First Great Western currently operates high speed trains between South Wales and London with a maximum speed of 125 miles per hour. The Strategic Rail Authority has consulted on a Great Western Main Line "Route Utilisation Strategy" to determine the most efficient use of current network infrastructure. A final strategy will be published shortly.

Transport Innovation Fund

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when he will announce details of the operation and size of the Transport Innovation Fund;
	(2)  how much has been allocated in each financial year for which allocations have been made to the Transport Innovation Fund (a) in total and (b) to local authorities for transport projects;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the allocations which will be made from the Transport Innovation Fund to local authorities for transport projects in years for which allocations have not yet been finalised.

Karen Buck: Money from the Transport Innovation Fund will become available from 2008–09 and is forecast to grow from £290 million in 2008–09 to over £2 billion by 2014–15. Allocations for each financial year have not yet been made.
	Further information about the aims and operation of the Fund will be published shortly. The Secretary of State has confirmed, however, that ultimately up to £200 million a year will be made available from the Fund to support local authorities implementing innovative solutions to congestion problems in their local area where these include demand management based on pricing.

Alcohol Deaths

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of how many deaths in (a) Greater London and (b) Hornsey and Wood Green alcohol was the primary cause in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking in respect of how many deaths in (a) Greater London and (b) Hornsey and Wood Green alcohol was the primary cause in each of the last five years. (5722)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2004. The table below shows the numbers of deaths among residents of Greater London and Hornsey and Wood Green Parliamentary Constituency where the underlying cause of death indicated a condition directly related to alcohol use in the years 2000 to 2004.
	
		Alcohol-related deaths(7) to usual residents of Greater London and Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency, registered 2000 to 2004  -- Number of deaths
		
			  Greater London Hornsey and Wood Green 
		
		
			 2000 806 6 
			 2001 809 8 
			 2002 838 9 
			 2003 834 8 
			 2004 772 12 
		
	
	(7) For the year 2000 the cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9). The codes used by ONS to define alcohol-related deaths are listed below:
	291—Alcoholic psychoses
	303—Alcohol dependence syndrome
	305.0—Non-dependent abuse of alcohol
	425.5—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
	571—Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
	E860—Accidental poisoning by alcohol
	For the years 2001–04 the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used. To maintain comparability with earlier years the following codes were used:
	F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	142.6—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
	K70—Alcoholic liver disease
	K73—Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
	K74—Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver
	X45—Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol
	Deaths were selected using the original underlying cause.
	The selection of codes to define alcohol-related deaths is described in:
	Baker A and Rooney C (2003). Recent trends in alcohol-related mortality, and the impact of ICD-10 on the monitoring of these deaths in England and Wales. "Health Statistics Quarterly" 17, pp 5–14.

Climate Change Levy

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 48W, on the climate change levy, what the yield in each year was from each of the other taxes introduced in the past 10 years indicating offsetting cuts in employers' national insurance contributions.

John Healey: The information requested for taxes for which there were offsetting cuts in employers national insurance contributions (NICs) is given in the following tables.
	
		Aggregates levy (AL) revenues and value of 0.1 percentage point cut in employers' national insurance contributions (NICs)
		
			   AL revenues (£ million) 1 Value of 0.1 pp cut in Employers' NICs (£ million) 2 
		
		
			 2002–03 309 375 
			 2003–04 340 395 
			 2004–05 333 (provisional) 405 
			 2005–06 £0.3 billion (expected) 425 
		
	
	(8) On accruals basis. Based on AL declarations on trader returns
	(9) Source: Based on HMT Tax Ready Reckoner
	
		Landfill tax (LFT) revenues and value of 0.2 percentage point cut in main rate of employers' national insurance contributions (NICs)
		
			 LFT revenues (£ million) 1 Approximate value of 0.2 pp cut in main rate of Employers' NICs in 1997–98 (£ million) 2 
		
		
			 1996–97 (12)170 — 
			 1997–98 352 550 
			 1998–99 323 610 
			 1999–2000 442 (13)— 
			 2000–01 476 (13)— 
			 2001–02 508 (13)— 
			 2002–03 538 (13)— 
			 2003–04 638 (13)— 
			 2004–05 668 (provisional) (13)— 
			 2005–06 £0.7 billion (expected) (13)— 
		
	
	(10) On accruals basis. Based on LFT declarations on trader returns
	(11) Source: Based on HMT Tax Ready Reckoner
	(12) From October 1 996
	(13) Not available
	Landfill tax was introduced with an offsetting 0.2 percentage point cut in the main rate of employer NICs from 1997–98. It is not possible to calculate the effects of the compensation for the landfill tax on employer NICs beyond 1998–99 due to structural changes to employers' NICs in 1999, which abolished the 'entry fee', replaced the series of four rates with a single rate and aligned the point at which individuals and employers pay national insurance with the personal allowance for income tax. It is not known what a 0.2 percentage point cut in the main rate pre-reform translates to in terms of a cut in the single rate post-reform.

Debt and income

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average (a) unsecured debt and (b) annual income per person was in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Vincent Cable dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on unsecured debt per person and annual income per person. (6018)
	The information requested is shown in the table below. The data for unsecured debt (households' total financial liabilities other than secured debt) and income (households' gross disposable income) used in the calculations are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined; separate estimates are not available.
	For the denominator in the calculations the series used is Population aged 16+.
	
		Annual income and unsecured debt per person, 1997–2004 £
		
			  Annual income per person Unsecured debt per person 
		
		
			 1997 12,420 3,540 
			 1998 12,730 3,790 
			 1999 13,310 4,090 
			 2000 14,200 4,460 
			 2001 15,120 4,910 
			 2002 15,470 5,620 
			 2003 16,070 6,100 
			 2004 16,680 7,080

Departmental Relocation

Roger Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department's posts (a) have been relocated and (b) are under consideration for relocation from London to the deprived areas of the south east.

Des Browne: The Chancellor's Departments are implementing the Lyons Review recommendations to relocate 5,050 posts out of London and the south east by 2010. This will not exclude consideration of relocating some posts to relatively deprived areas in the south east. So far, the Departments have not identified any posts suitable for transfer to deprived areas in the south east.

Earnings (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average earnings of full-time employees in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency were in April (a) 1997, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question what the average earnings of full time employees in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency were in April (a) 1997, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004. (5723)
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for Annual Survey of Hours and Earning tables. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	I attach a table showing the average gross weekly earnings for full time employees in Hornsey and Wood Green Parliamentary Constituency from 2001 to 2004. This data is also available on the National Statistics website on table 9:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=l3101
	Data for Hornsey and Wood Green for 1997 is not yet available from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, and data from the New Earnings Survey has been suppressed due to quality.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It has a one per cent sample of all employees.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publication criteria ensure that all estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.
	
		Gross weekly earnings (£), means and medians, for full-time employees in Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency, 2001–04
		
			  Number of Jobs (thousand) CV 1 Median CV 1 Mean CV 1 
		
		
			 2001 14 (15)11.1 382.9 (15)8.3 438.6 (15)5.7 
			 2002 16 (15)11.1 398.1 (15)8.7 437.0 (15)5.4 
			 2003 16 (15)11.1 422.2 (15)8.3 466.0 (15)4.9 
			 2004 exc(16) 14 (15)12.2 422.1 (15)9.9 479.2 (15)5.4 
			 2004 inc(16) 14 (15)12.0 421.8 (15)9.7 474.4 (15)5.3 
		
	
	(14) Coefficient of Variation—measure of the deviation of a variable from its mean.
	(15) Key to quality:
	CV}5%
	CV>5% and }10%
	CV>10% and }20%
	X= unreliable
	. = unavailable
	.. = disclosive
	: = not applicable
	- = nil or negligible
	(16) In 2004 a number of supplementary surveys were introduced to improve the coverage of ASHE. Data is presented for 2004 both including and excluding these supplementary surveys. The data excluding supplementary surveys enables a direct comparison to 2003.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS

Growth Forecasts

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to adjust his growth forecasts.

John Healey: The Government's latest assessment of economic prospects was set out in Budget 2005 (HC 372). This assessment will be updated in the next Pre-Budget Report.

Interest Rates

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has evaluated on the effects of the level of interest rates on (a) retail sales and (b) the level of employment in the retail sector.

Ivan Lewis: Interest rate policy is the province of the Bank of England and it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on interest rate decisions taken by the independent Monetary Policy Committee. Commentary on the relationship between interest rates and the performance of the retail sector is contained in the Bank of England's May Inflation Report, (section 2.1, "Why has consumer spending growth slowed?").

Magic Mushroom Deaths

Brian Iddon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths have been recorded in the last 30 years which are attributable to magic mushroom use.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Iddon, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths have been recorded in the last 30 years which are attributable to magic mushroom use. (6227)
	Available figures relate to deaths where the underlying cause was poisoning and a particular substance was mentioned on the death certificate, not the total number of deaths where the use of the substance in question was a contributory factor. The most recently available information is for deaths in 2003. Figures are not available prior to 1993 as this is the earliest year for which textual information is held on the Office for National Statistics statistical deaths database. Figures are shown in the table below for the calendar years 1993 to 2003.
	
		Number of deaths from drug-related poisoning,(17) where psilocybin was mentioned on the death certificate,(18) England and Wales, 1993 to 2003 3
		
			  Number of deaths 
		
		
			 1993 1 
			 1994 0 
			 1995 0 
			 1996 0 
			 1997 0 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 0 
			 2001 0 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 0 
		
	
	(17) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 292, 304, 305.2–305.9, E850-E858. E950.0-E950.5, E962.0 and E980.0-E980.5 for 1993 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-I0) codes FI1-F16. F18-FI9, X40-X44, X60-X64, X85 and YI0-YI4 from 2001 onwards.
	(18) Drugs mentioned on the death certificate of a death where the underlying cause was drug poisoning.
	(19) Data are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.

MRSA Deaths (Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths have been recorded connected to the MRSA bug in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the last five years, broken down by age group.

John Healey: The information requested falls with the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Ashol Kumar, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths have been recorded connected to the MRSA bug in Middlesbrough South and Cleveland constituency in the last five years; and how old the victims were. (5843)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2003. Fewer than 5 deaths occurred in the five year period 1999 to 2003 to residents of Middlesbrough South and Cleveland constituency where MRSA was a contributory factor. 1 As there were fewer than 5 deaths over this period an age breakdown cannot be provided.
	1 Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993–2002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21,15–22.

Pensioners (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners live in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many pensioners live in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency. (5724)
	Mid-year population estimates on pensioners are not available for Parliamentary Constituencies. I have therefore provided figures taken from the 2001 Census.
	The table below shows the number of pensioners living in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency on Census day (29 April 2001). The figures have been extracted from Table CAS002 on the CD supplement to the Census 2001 Census Area Statistics for Parliamentary Constituencies in England and Wales, which is available on request from Census Customer Services (census.customerservices@ons.gov.uk).
	
		Pensioners living in Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency on Census day: 29 April 2001—England
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 All people 107,033 
			 People of pensionale age(20) 13,039 
		
	
	(20) Pensionable age is 65 and over for males and 60 and over for females.
	Source:
	2001 Census Report for parliamentary constituencies

Population (London)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the population of (a) London and (b) Greater London has been in each year since 1975.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Lynne Featherstone, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the population of (a) London and (b) Greater London in each year since 1975. (6369)
	The attached table provides population estimates for Inner London, Outer London and Greater London. The population of Greater London (or London Government Office Region) is the sum of the populations of Inner London and Outer London.
	
		Mid-year population estimates: 1975 to 2003 Thousands
		
			  Inner London Outer London Greater London 
		
		
			 1975 2,815.7 4,363.3 7,179.0 
			 1976 2,755.5 4,333.6 7,089.1 
			 1977 2,705.0 4,307.0 7,012.0 
			 1978 2,658.4 4,288.4 6,946.8 
			 1979 2,617.6 4,270.0 6,887.6 
			 1980 2,587.4 4,263.2 6,850.6 
			 1981 2,550.1 4,254.9 6,805.0 
			 1982 2,520.8 4,244.2 6,765.1 
			 1983 2,517.9 4,235.1 6,753.0 
			 1984 2,523.4 4,231.3 6,754.7 
			 1985 2,531.9 4,235.1 6,767.0 
			 1986 2,536.6 4,237.6 6,774.2 
			 1987 2,540.6 4,224.9 6,765.6 
			 1988 2,526.7 4,202.6 6,729.3 
			 1989 2,542.2 4,209.3 6,751.6 
			 1990 2,571.4 4,227.4 6,798.8 
			 1991 2,599.3 4,230.0 6,829.3 
			 1992 2,598.1 4,231.3 6,829.4 
			 1993 2,601.7 4,242.8 6,844.5 
			 1994 2,612.4 4,261.2 6,873.5 
			 1995 2,628.6 4,284.5 6,913.1 
			 1996 2,656.4 4,318.0 6,974.4 
			 1997 2,672.4 4,342.5 7,014.8 
			 1998 2,699.2 4,366.3 7,065.5 
			 1999 2,750.7 4,403.2 7,153.9 
			 2000 2,804.9 4,431.8 7,236.7 
			 2001 2,859.4 4,463.0 7,322.4 
			 2002 2,891.9 4,479.4 7,371.2 
			 2003 2,904.6 4,483.3 7,387.9 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Population (London)

Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the population of (a) London and (b) Greater London has been in each year since 1975.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Geoffrey Robinson, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the population of (a) London and (b) Greater London in each year since 1975. (5377)
	The attached table provides population estimates for Inner London, Outer London and Greater London. The population of Greater London (or London Government Office Region) is the sum of the populations of Inner London and Outer London.
	
		Mid-year population estimates: 1975 to 2003 Thousand
		
			  Inner London Outer London Greater London 
		
		
			 1975 2,815.7 4,363.3 7,179.0 
			 1976 2,755.5 4,333.6 7,089.1 
			 1977 2,705.0 4,307.0 7,012.0 
			 1978 2,658.4 4,288.4 6,946.8 
			 1979 2,617.6 4,270.0 6,887.6 
			 1980 2,587.4 4,263.2 6,850.6 
			 1981 2,550.1 4,254.9 6,805.0 
			 1982 2,520.8 4,244.2 6,765.1 
			 1983 2,517.9 4,235.1 6,753.0 
			 1984 2,523.4 4,231.3 6,754.7 
			 1985 2,531.9 4,235.1 6,767.0 
			 1986 2,536.6 4,237.6 6,774.2 
			 1987 2,540.6 4,224.9 6,765.6 
			 1988 2,526.7 4,202.6 6,729.3 
			 1989 2,542.2 4,209.3 6,751.6 
			 1990 2,571.4 4,227.4 6,798.8 
			 1991 2,599.3 4,230.0 6,829.3 
			 1992 2,598.1 4,231.3 6,829.4 
			 1993 2,601.7 4,242.8 6,844.5 
			 1994 2,612.4 4,261.2 6,873.5 
			 1995 2,628.6 4,284.5 6,913.1 
			 1996 2,656.4 4,318.0 6,974.4 
			 1997 2,672.4 4,342.5 7,014.8 
			 1998 2,699.2 4,366.3 7,065.5 
			 1999 2,750.7 4,403.2 7,153.9 
			 2000 2,804.9 4,431.8 7,236.7 
			 2001 2,859.4 4,463.0 7,322.4 
			 2002 2,891.9 4,479.4 7,371.2 
			 2003 2,904.6 4,483.3 7,387.9 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Primary Schools (Portsmouth)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many primary school-aged children there are expected to be in Portsmouth in each of the next five academic years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 21 June 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many primary school age children there are predicted to be in Portsmouth for the next five academic years. I am replying in his absence. (5228)
	Official 2003-based Subnational Population Projections for England were published by the Office for National Statistics in November 2004. Table 1 shows the projected mid-year population of 5–11 year olds for Portsmouth taken from these projections.
	
		Table 1: Portsmouth projected population of primary(21) school age children
		
			  Thousand 
		
		
			 2005 14.4 
			 2006 14.2 
			 2007 13.9 
			 2008 13.8 
			 2009 13.7 
			 2010 13.6 
		
	
	(21) Primary school age defined as 5–11 year olds
	Source:
	ONS 2003-based Subnational population projections

Tax Credits (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Hornsey and Wood Green (a) received (i) child tax credit and (ii) working tax credit and (b) were estimated to be entitled to each on the latest date for which figures are available; what the average monthly payment was in the last month for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: On (a) , estimates of the number of in-work families (broken down by families with and without children) in each region, local authority and constituency with tax credits for 2003–04 awards after finalisation appear in the HMRC statistical publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Annual statistics. 2003–04 Geographical analyses." More recent provisional estimates for in-work families at selected dates in each such area appear in the publication "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics Geographical Analysis." The estimates are based on samples and are subject to significant sampling uncertainty. Both publications can be found on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc- geog-stats.htm
	On (b) , estimates of numbers of families entitled to child and working tax credits are not available at a regional level. Estimates of average awards on a monthly basis are also not available. Estimates of average payments in each region, local authority and constituency for 2003–04 awards to families with children at 5 April 2004 after finalisation appear in "Child and Working Tax Credits Annual statistics 2003–04 Geographical analyses." The estimates are based on samples and are subject to significant sampling uncertainty. This publication can be found on the HMRC website at the above address.

Unemployment (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth unemployment were in Hornsey and Wood Green in each of the last eight years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Ms Lynne Featherstone, dated 21 June 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in Hornsey and Wood Green in each of the last eight years. (5720)
	Table 1 attached shows the numbers of long-term unemployed (over 12 months) and unemployed persons aged 16 to 24 resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green Parliamentary Constituency for each 12-month period ending in February each year from 1998 to 2004, the latest period for which data are available. This is based on annual local area Labour Force Survey data which, as with any sample survey, is subject to sampling variability.
	ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming jobseeker's allowance (ISA) for local areas. Table 2 attached shows the annual average number of ISA claimants claiming for over 12 months and the number of claimants aged 18–24 resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency for each year from 1997 to 2004. The data in Table 2 are published on the ONS's Nomis website www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	
		Table 1: Unemployed people resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency Thousand
		
			 12 months ending February Youth (aged 16–24)  Over 12 month 
		
		
			 1998 1 n/a 
			 1999 (22)— 2 
			 2000 (22)— 1 
			 2001 2 2 
			 2002 1 1 
			 2003 2 2 
			 2004 1 1 
		
	
	n/a = Data not available.
	(22) Zero or disclosive sample size.
	Note:
	These estimates are based on very small sample sizes and are subject to a very high degree of sampling variability. Changes from year-to-year, especially, should be treated with caution.
	Source:
	Annual local area Labour Force Survey
	
		Table 2: JSA claimants resident in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency
		
			  Annual averages Youth claimants (aged 18–24) 1 All claimants for over 12 months(23) 
		
		
			 1997 1,030 2,205 
			 1998 830 1,520 
			 1999 680 1,370 
			 2000 575 995 
			 2001 520 560 
			 2002 610 545 
			 2003 665 605 
			 2004 685 605 
		
	
	(23) Computerised claims only.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Administrative system

Benefit Claimants (Part-time Earnings)

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people declared part-time earnings while claiming (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) income support in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following table.
	
		Income support (IS) under 60 and income-based jobseekers allowance (JSA(IB)) recipients with income declared from part-time/self-employed part-time earnings: Great Britain
		
			 November All IS/JSA(IB) IS JSA(IB) 
		
		
			 2000 111,000 80,900 30,100 
			 2001 101,600 79,700 21,900 
			 2002 97,400 77,600 19,800 
			 2003 91,900 73,500 18,400 
			 2004 77,400 64,200 13,200 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
	2. Figures include claimants with part-time earnings and self-employed part-time earnings.
	3. Figures include claimants in receipt of income-based JSA who would also be entitled to the contributory JSA element.
	4. Figures are cases where the claimant or the partner declares part-time/self employed part-time earnings.
	5. IS figures refer to cases where the claimant and partner (if applicable) are both under 60 i.e. figures exclude minimum income guarantee cases to be consistent with the IS figures post-October 2003.
	Source:
	Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples

Pensions

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the pensions regulator has inherited all the functions and duties previously undertaken by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority and the Occupational Pensions Board.

Stephen Timms: Section 7 of the Pensions Act 2004 transferred all the existing functions of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) to the Pensions Regulator with the exception of responsibility for the Pension Tracing Service which transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions on 6 April 2005.
	As well as inheriting Opra's powers the Pensions Regulator will also have a range of new or increased powers to assist it in fulfilling its statutory objectives and functions as specified in the Pensions Act 2004—protecting members' benefits by making use of enhanced information-gathering powers to implement its risk-based approach to regulation.
	The Occupational Pensions Board was replaced by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority from 6 April 1997.

Social Security Office (Bournemouth)

John Butterfill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) employees and (b) users of the Social Security Office in Cotlands Road, Bournemouth of its proposed closure as a processing centre; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive, Leslie Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie to Sir John Butterfill, dated 21 June 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the impact upon employees and customers, with regard to the decision taken not to locate a Benefit Processing Centre at the Social Security Office situated in Cotlands Road, Bournemouth. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	It may be helpful if I explain that matters concerning the location of Benefit Processing Centres and the subsequent redeployment of staff are part of a nationally driven agenda to centralise benefit processing in 77 locations across the country. I can confirm that the management team for the Dorset and Somerset District are adhering closely to the Department for Work and Pensions Workforce Management Guidance' which provides a clear process to follow.
	The Benefit Processing Management Team is currently working to re-deploy all staff in the vicinity. It is their expectation that there will be sufficient vacancies available within the Contact Centre sited in Poole, the Benefit Processing Centre to be located in Totton and in other government departments within the area. All staff will shortly have individual meetings with their line managers in order to discuss their own personal circumstances and needs, and to discuss any issues around relocation to other sites. Support for staff in coming to terms with the changes will be provided by Carefirst (soon to be replaced by Corecare from 1 July 2005) should it be required.
	There is no expectation that the decision to locate benefit processing outside Bournemouth will have any adverse effect upon customer service. The processing centres will be providing 0845 local call rate numbers in order that customers are not disadvantaged by location, along with a 'freephone' number for Social Fund Crisis loan customers. Our face-to-face contact with customers will continued unchanged via the Jobcentre Plus Local Service Outlets.
	You have my assurance that the decision taken not to base one of the 77 Processing Centres in Bournemouth was made following consideration of all of the facts and mindful of the impact upon both the staff and the customers at that location.
	Bournemouth was not included in the list of those selected to deliver this service for several reasons. These include the difficulties identified with regard to estate issues, staff turnover rates and the re-deployment opportunities for benefit processing staff within the locality.
	I hope this is helpful.

Africa

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2005, Official Report, columns 2–3W, on Africa, if he will rank African countries according to the measure of relative poverty in his Department's financial model.

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development uses a financial model to help inform decisions on bilateral aid allocation to its programmes in low-income countries in each region. The model takes account of both the extent of a country's poverty and the likely effectiveness of aid in reducing poverty there. The amount of aid which a country is likely to receive from other donors is also taken into account.
	Within the part of the model that takes account of the extent of a country's poverty, gross national income per capita, converted to dollars using purchasing power parity rates, is used as a proxy indicator of relative poverty. This data is drawn from the World Bank's World Development Indicators database.
	The following table ranks African countries according to this measure. Data is shown for 2003, the latest year for which information is currently available.
	
		
			 Country GNI per capita 2003 ($, PPP) 
		
		
			 Sierra Leone 530.00 
			 Malawi 590.00 
			 Tanzania 620.00 
			 Burundi 630.00 
			 Congo, Democratic Republic 660.00 
			 Guinea-Bissau 680.00 
			 Ethiopia 710.00 
			 Congo, Republic 730.00 
			 Madagascar 800.00 
			 Niger 830.00 
			 Zambia 850.00 
			 Nigeria 900.00 
			 Mali 960.00 
			 Eritrea 1,020.00 
			 Kenya 1,030.00 
			 Mozambique 1,060.00 
			 Central African Republic 1,080.00 
			 Chad 1,080.00 
			 Benin 1,110.00 
			 Burkina Faso 1,170.00 
			 Rwanda 1,290.00 
			 Côte d'Ivoire 1,400.00 
			 Uganda 1,430.00 
			 Senegal 1,620.00 
			 Togo 1,640.00 
			 Comoros 1,720.00 
			 Gambia, The 1,740.00 
			 Sudan 1,760.00 
			 Mauritania 1,870.00 
			 Angola 1,910.00 
			 Cameroon 1,990.00 
			 Guinea 2,080.00 
			 Djibouti 2,140.00 
			 Ghana 2,190.00 
			 Lesotho 3,100.00 
			 Egypt, Arab Republic 3,940.00 
			 Morocco 3,940.00 
			 Swaziland 4,850.00 
			 Cape Verde 5,130.00 
			 Gabon 5,500.00 
			 Algeria 5,930.00 
			 Namibia 6,660.00 
			 Tunisia 6,850.00 
			 Botswana 8,370.00 
			 South Africa 10,130.00 
			 Mauritius 11,280.00 
			 Equatorial Guinea n/a 
			 Liberia n/a 
			 Libya n/a 
			 Vlayotte n/a 
			 Sao Tome and Principe n/a 
			 Seychelles n/a 
			 Somalia n/a 
			 Zimbabwe n/a 
		
	
	Source:
	World Development Indicators 2005

Complaints Procedure (NHS/Care Homes)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the complaints procedure is for those in (a) private care homes and (b) NHS facilities in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: The information is as follows:
	(a) Independent homes have a regulatory requirement to provide advice to all residents (including private residents) on how to make a complaint and who to contact outside the home if they remain dissatisfied. The complaints procedure for a resident placed in an independent home by an Health and Social Services Trust is the Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) Complaints procedure entitled: "Complaints Listening . . . Acting . . . Improving: Guidance on Handling HPSS Complaints: Hospital and Community Health and Social Services" issued 2000.
	(b) The same complaints procedure is available to a resident in a statutory home.

Early-years Education

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many free (a) nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four-year-olds in the Province in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The number of places in the statutory nursery and voluntary/private sectors in each of the last five academic years was as follows:
	
		
			  Academic year  Nursery places Voluntary/private places 
		
		
			 2000–01 12,148 4409 
			 2001–02 13,292 6000 
			 2002–03 14,280 6034 
			 2003–04 14,280 6093 
			 2004–05 14,150 5968 
		
	
	Pre-school places in the statutory sector are, as has been the case since the early 1970s, open to children from two-years-old to the lower limit of compulsory school age. In all cases, however, applications from children in their immediate pre-school year are given priority ahead of younger children. The funded provision secured in the voluntary/private sector is only open to children in their immediate pre-school year (children aged between three-years and two-months and four-years and two-months). The regulations made by the Department of Education require providers, in allocating funded pre-school places, to give priority to specified target groups. One of the specified target groups is the oldest children in the final pre-school cohort (those with July and August birthdays) who are the only children who are actually aged four when they enter their final pre-school year.

Language, Culture and Heritage Funding

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what public sector funding has been allocated to promote (a) Ulster Scots and (b) Irish Gaelic (i) language, (ii) culture and (iii) heritage in each year since 2001.

David Hanson: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) jointly funds the Ulster-Scots Agency and Foras na Gaeilge, the Irish Language Agency. The Ulster-Scots Agency has a statutory remit to promote Ulster-Scots language and culture. Foras na Gaeilge has a statutory remit to promote the Irish language.
	The budgets allocated to the Ulster-Scots Agency and Foras na Gaeilge by DCAL since 2001 are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   £ million 
			Budget (STG)  Foras na Gaeilge (Irish Language Agency) Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch (Ulster-Scots Agency) 
		
		
			 2001 2.53 0.97 
			 2002 2.64 1.07 
			 2003 2.850 1.155 
			 2004 3.224 (24)1.277 
			 2005 3.242 1.327 
		
	
	(24) The Ulster-Scots Agency received additional funding of £60,000 in 2004 from DCAL.
	Note:
	These figures are based on the calendar year.
	Estimated funding for the Irish Language Broadcasting fund and Ulster-Scots Academy for 2005 is detailed in the following table.
	
		2005
		
			  Estimate (£) 
		
		
			 Irish Language Broadcast Fund 3,000,000 
			 Ulster Scots Academy 500,000 
		
	
	Funding is also available from departmental mainstream programmes for projects, which may have an Irish or Ulster-Scots language or culture dimension, which cannot be separated from the primary funding objectives.

Pupil Behaviour

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children are defined as having behavioural problems in the South East Education and Library Board area; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: There were 1,477 children on special educational needs registers with emotional and behavioural difficulties attending schools and pre-school centres in the South Eastern Education and Library Board area in 2004–05.
	Information about the number of pupils with behavioural problems who fall below the threshold for inclusion on a school's special educational needs register is not held centrally. However, support for pupils into this category will be re-considered shortly. The Department is awaiting a report from Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI), on the operation and effectiveness of the Boards' Behaviour Support teams, which were established in 1998–99 to support schools in managing this group of pupils. The findings will inform a decision on the future direction of this service and whether a major review is necessary.
	The ETI issued another report in 2004 on "Provision for Pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties and Persistent and Challenging Behaviours in Special Schools in NI", which highlighted problems in this area. DE has subsequently made available additional resources to the Boards to help address these issues.

Road Building

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new road building projects in Northern Ireland are scheduled for the next five years; and what the anticipated cost of the construction is.

Shaun Woodward: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady, in response to this question.
	Letter from Malcolm McKibbin to Lady Hermon, dated 21 June 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding "how many new road building projects in Northern Ireland are scheduled for the next five years; and what the anticipated cost of the construction is."
	I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	Roads Service defines major road projects as those where the scheme costs are estimated to exceed £1.0m. These schemes are referred to as Strategic Road Improvements (SRIs). Roads Service manages the delivery of SRIs through the following programmes:
	Construction Programme—Schemes already under construction.
	Preparation Pool—High priority schemes that Roads Service is committed to progressing through the statutory procedures of Environmental Appraisal, Direction Order (equivalent to planning approval) and Land Vesting. Preparation Pool schemes are expected to be implemented within the next 5 years or so (subject to clearing the statutory procedures, having a satisfactory economic appraisal and the availability of funds at the time).
	Forward Planning Schedule—Schemes that perform well when assessed at feasibility stage and which are expected to be implemented within the next 10 years or so (subject to clearing the statutory procedures, having a satisfactory economic appraisal and the availability of funds at the time).
	Therefore, schemes currently held in the Preparation Pool are the most likely to be implemented within the next 5 years (subject to clearing the statutory procedures, having a satisfactory economic appraisal and the availability of funds at the time). The table attached presents brief details of the 22 schemes currently held in the Preparation Pool, the cost of which is estimated to cost £476.7m.
	I hope this information is helpful.
	
		Major works preparation pool June 2005
		
			  Scheme name  Description Estimate (£ million) 
		
		
			 M1/Westlink Widen 4.0 km M1 motorway and Westlink to 3 lanes in each direction with 2 new grade separated junctions 75.0 
			 M2 Crosskennan slips 2No. on-slips onto M2 at Antrim Area Hospital 2.0 
			 M2 Widening (Sandyknowes to Greencastle) Additional lane on the Belfast bound carriageway from Sandyknowes Junction to Greencastle interchange, also 3 lanes through Greencastle interchange in northbound direction, includes replacement of 3No. overbridges 29.0 
			 A1 Beechill to Cloghogue 12.1 km dual carriageway with GS junctions 102.0 
			 A1 Junctions 4No. compact grade-separated junctions at Hillsborough, Dromore, Banbridge and Loughbrickland 16.0 
			 A4 Dungannon to Ballygawley Dualling 20.5 km dual carriageway between Dungannon (end of dual carriageway) and Ballygawley roundabout, including 6 grade-separated junctions 102.0 
			 A4/A5 Improvements A4 Annaghilla—3.2 km single carriageway realignment; A5 Tullyvar—3.1 km single carriageway realignment 15.7 
			 Cairnshill Park and Ride Provision of 700–800 space park and ride site with terminus building 10.0 
			 Skeoge Link (revised), Londonderry 1.9 km four-lane carriageway link road (25)5.3 
			 A6 Dualling (M22 to Castledawson Roundabout) 12.6 km dual carriageway either side of Toome Bypass (26)34.02 
			 A20 Frederick Street Link, Newtownards 0.3 km single carriageway link road 1.1 
			 A2 Broadbridge Dualling 6.75 km dual carriageway between Maydown Roundabout and City of Derry Airport (26)19.8 
			 A32 Cherrymount Link 1.1 km single carriageway link road 3.8 
			 A4 Henry Street/Sligo Road Enniskillen Additional traffic lane on approach to junction 1.1 
			 A55 Knock Road, Belfast 0.62 km four lane carriageway between Clarawood and Kings Road 4.3 
			 A514 Crescent Link, Londonderry 1.9 km dual carriageway (completing the dualling of Crescent Link) 4.6 
			 A29 Carland Bridge 1.3 km single carriageway realignment 4.0 
			 A20 Newtownards Southern Distributor 2.0 km link road from Blair Mayne Road South to Comber Road to Portaferry Road (25)1.5 
			 A5 Strabane Bypass Stage 3 1.0 km single carriageway bypass extension 2.9 
			 A26/M2 Ballee Road East 1 .5 km of dual carriageway with two slip roads 6.1 
			 A3 Armagh North and West Link Road 3.8 km single carriageway link road to the Portadown Road 15.4 
			 A2 Shore Road 2.4 km four-lane carriageway from Jordanstown to Greenisland. 21.1 
			 Total cost of Preparation Pool schemes 476.7 
		
	
	(25) Scheme estimate excludes developer contribution.
	(26) Scheme estimate at 2002 prices—under revision.

Schools

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils were excluded from schools in the Province in each of the last 10 years; and what the reasons were.

Angela Smith: The information that the Department holds about the number of pupils expelled and suspended from schools is as follows:
	
		Number
		
			  Expulsions Suspensions 
		
		
			 1995–96 62 n/a 
			 1996–97 79 n/a 
			 1997–98 80 n/a 
			 1998–99 73 n/a 
			 1999–2000 83 n/a 
			 2000–01 80 4,740 
			 2001–02 76 5,099 
			 2002–03 70 5,282 
			 2003–04 71 5,485 
		
	
	The reasons for suspension have been collected from 2002–03 school year and for expulsions from 2003–04 school year. Both sets of information are available on the Department's website at www.deni.gov.uk/facts_figures/education_stats/index_other.htm. However, the detailed suspension data for 2003–04 submitted by one of the five Education and Library Boards has still to be fully analysed. When this has been done in the near future, the information on the website will be updated.

Special Education Needs

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the primary causes of need of children in the Province with special education needs are.

Angela Smith: The most prevalent causes of need in 2004–05 are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of children 
		
		
			 Moderate Learning Difficulties 20,295 
			 Speech and Language Difficulties 8,825 
			 Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties 6,942 
			 Dyslexia 3,837 
			 Physical Disability 2,244

Voluntary and Community Group Funding

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he is taking to place the funding of voluntary and community groups and organisations on a more long-term and sustainable basis.

David Hanson: A number of Government initiatives have already moved to longer-term strategic investment in communities. "Positive steps", Government's response to the report of the Task Force on Resourcing the Voluntary and Community Sector, gives a commitment that
	"Government would actively promote a longer-term (7–10 year) outcome focused approach to programmes that significantly involve the voluntary and community sector."
	This move towards longer-term investment will require change both within Government and in the voluntary and community sector. To help the voluntary and community sector with this change, I have established a "Modernisation Fund" to promote change and strengthen the service delivery role of organisations. In addition, funding will be made available to support capital projects delivered through the voluntary and community sector which will help develop the physical infrastructure and asset base of the sector improving delivery of services on a more sustainable basis.
	The Department for Social Development (DSD), through its "People and Place" Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, is providing a framework for a longer-term, seven-ten year, approach to delivering strategic objectives. However, longer-term outcome focussed funding will take time to achieve and needs to be considered in the context of the budgetary planning process. DSD monitor and evaluate performance in moving towards longer-term outcomes with regular reviews at least every three years.
	DSD continues to provide ongoing support to the voluntary and community sector this amounts to over £40 million across the next three years.

Walk-in Health Centres

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce walk-in health centres in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The functions of NHS walk-in centres, as established in Great Britain, will be provided in Northern Ireland by health and care centres, which bring together a range of primary and community-based care services into a 'one stop shop', and local hospitals, as defined in "Developing Better Services". Work is currently in progress on the building of three of these centres in Belfast. Plans for a network of similar centres across Northern Ireland are currently being developed by HSS boards and trusts.

Clinical Trials Directive

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect that the Clinical Trials Directive has had on the length of time taken for clinical trials to be approved;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect that the Clinical Trials Directive has had on the volume of paperwork and administrative work which has to be completed and submitted by researchers before a project is approved;
	(3)  under what procedure researchers wishing to conduct a clinical trial can have their application for approval fast-tracked by her Department.

Jane Kennedy: The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No. 1031) that implement the European Union Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC in the United Kingdom came into force on 1 May 2004.
	The regulations provide a statutory basis for the regulation of the commencement and conduct of clinical trials of medicines. Most of the provisions were part of existing UK clinical trials regulation. The regulations require a positive opinion from an ethics committee and an authorisation issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
	To achieve this, the regulations provided for the UK Ethics Committee Authority to recognise ethics committees and oversee the ethics review system. The regulations also provide for a single UK-wide opinion for multi-centre studies and set a defined time period—60 days—and restrict previous time-consuming reiteration of correspondence passing between applicant and committee. This has streamlined previous procedures while reinforcing the protection of research subjects. Throughout the first year of these regulations UK ethics committees have operated well within the 60-day target.
	The regulations shortened MHRA's statutory response times to 30 days from 35 days and the Government agreed a pharmaceutical industry competitiveness task force performance target for response to applications for phase I trials of a mean of 14 days, with a maximum of 21 days. In the first year following implementation, the MHRA has met its deadline of 14 days for phase I applications and of 30 days for all other applications. The MHRA has no additional application process.
	For regulatory approval for pharmaceutical company trials, the documentation required under the new legislation is similar to that required under the previous system. Non commercial researchers have a simplified application procedure requiring an application form and protocol and minimal supporting data. This is similar to the procedure before the clinical trials regulations came into force. The new application form is the same for all types of trial and has been designed to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy. It uses check boxes rather than free text and typically takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

Clostridium Difficile

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients have been (a) infected with and (b) died from the clostridium difficile bacteria in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: Complete information on the number of patients with clostridium difficile infections in the last five years are not available, but reports made under the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) voluntary reporting scheme are shown in table 1.
	
		Table 1: Voluntary reports of clostridium difficile infections diagnosed from faecal specimens for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
		
			  Number of reports 
		
		
			 20001 20,5562 
			 2001 22,0082 
			 2002 28,9862 
			 2003 35,5372 
			 2004 43,6722 
		
	
	(27) 2000-England and Wales only.
	(28) Provisional data.
	Source:
	HPA.
	The only routinely available mortality statistic on clostridium difficile are those associated with enterocolitis, the most common illness caused by clostridium difficile infection.
	Table 2 shows total mentions of clostridium difficile enterocolitis and the number where it was also the underlying cause of death for 2001 onwards. Comparable figures are not available before 2001, because no specific code for clostridium difficile exists in the ninth revision of the international classification of diseases (ICD). The version of the ICD used to code death certificates did not include a specific code for clostridium difficile enterocolitis.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is working with the HPA on a special study to identify the total number of deaths where clostridium difficile was mentioned on the death certificate.
	
		Number of deaths where enterocolitis due to clostridium difficile was mentioned on the death certificate and the number of these mentions where it was also the underlying cause of death(29), England and Wales, 2001–03
		
			  Total mentions Underlying cause 
		
		
			 2001 1,199 674 
			 2002 1,417 751 
			 2003 1,748 934 
		
	
	(29) Selected using the code A04.7 from the ICD, tenth revision (ICD-10).
	Source:
	ONS.

Hepatitis C

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what policy response she has formulated to the advice of the Chief Medical Officer given in the document Getting Ahead of the Curve published in 2002 relating to the treatment costs of hepatitis C.

Caroline Flint: The Department published its "Hepatitis C Action Plan for England" in 2004 to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C. Implementation of the action plan is being underpinned by an awareness raising campaign for health care professionals and the public.

Hospital Hygiene

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps cross-infection sisters are taking to control infection.

Jane Kennedy: The role of the infection control nurses is defined in "Hospital Infection Control, Guidance on the control of infection in hospitals", prepared by the hospital infection working group of the Department and the Public Health Laboratory Service in March 1995, which is available in the Library. The infection control nurse is responsible for surveillance, prevention and control of infection and has responsibility for ensuring policies and training are in place to secure effective infection control.

Hospital Hygiene

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidelines have been issued on the hygiene of interaction between patients, clinical staff and visitors in NHS hospitals;
	(2)  what guidelines are followed when isolating patients who contract infections in relation to contact between patients, clinical staff and visitors in NHS hospitals.

Jane Kennedy: Trusts have their own infection control manuals and these will include policies on the management of isolated patients and procedures to be followed by patients and relatives. These will be based on national guidelines and other evidence.
	The key guidance documents available on the Department's website include:
	"Winning Ways—Working together to reduce Healthcare Associated Infection in England"
	"The epic project: developing national evidence-based guidelines for preventing healthcare associated infection; Phase 1: guidelines for preventing hospital-acquired infections"
	"National Institute for Clinical Excellence, Infection Control: prevention of healthcare associated infection in primary and community care"
	Information on the management of infected patients is available on the newly created national resource for infection control website at http://www.nric.org.uk.

"Securing the Vote" Report

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how and when her Department will respond to the recommendations made in the Electoral Commission's report, "Securing the Vote".

Harriet Harman: The Government are currently considering the measures in "Securing the Vote" and we will respond when it is appropriate to do so. The Government have sought views from stakeholders on the policy paper on electoral administration, which includes a number of the measures in "Securing the Vote". We intend to legislate for most of these measures in the Electoral Administration Bill.

Coroner Service

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to reform the coroner service in England and Wales.

Harriet Harman: pursuant to the reply, 7 June 2005, Official Report, c. 1124
	I have been asked to reply.
	The information contained in my previous answer was inaccurate. I apologise for this error. The coroner was reprimanded and continues to be monitored by the Lord Chancellor. However, he has not been required to undertake any extra training.

Departmental Objectives/Staffing

Graham Allen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to involve hon. Members in delivering the objectives of her Department.

Harriet Harman: The objectives of my Department are set out in the document "Making a Difference Taking Forward Our Priorities", copies of which were placed in the Libraries of both Houses. In the development of these proposals we have consulted hon. Members by issuing consultation papers, holding meetings and engaging in debates. We intend to continue to do so.

Adult Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action she is taking to improve the provision of adult education.

Phil Hope: The Government's Skills Strategy, "21st Century Skills: Realising Our Potential" (July 2003) and "Skills: Getting on in business, getting on at work" (March 2005) set out our plans for increasing and improving opportunities for adults to develop their skills. Adult education services are benefiting from our well-received Success for All programme. This is a long-term initiative to develop quality, demand-led provision, in which the Department is investing £118 million this year. For example, students benefit from the excellent teaching and learning resources produced through Success for All and managers can develop their leadership and management skills through the Government-funded Centre for Excellence in Leadership.

Basic Skills

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adults are without (a) level 3 and (b) basic skills, broken down by (i) local education authority and (ii) Government office region.

Phil Hope: The following table shows both the number and proportion of working adults 1 who lack a NVQ level 3 or equivalent qualification. The results are based on the 2003–04 local labour force survey which sampled around 390,000 people from March 2003 to February 2004 throughout the United Kingdom. Figures are presented at Country and Government office region level in the first instance, and then local education authorities ordered alphabetically:
	1 Working age adults defined here as males aged 16–64 and females aged 16–59.
	
		
			  Adults without a level 3 or higher 
			 Country Number (Thousand) Percentage 
		
		
			 England 17,059 56 
			 Wales 1,027 59 
			 Scotland 1,614 52 
			 Northern Ireland 615 60 
			
			 Government Office Region   
			 North East 922 60 
			 North West 2,370 58 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,759 58 
			 East Midlands 1,487 58 
			 West Midlands 1,925 60 
			 East of England 1,932 59 
			 London 2,530 53 
			 South East 2,558 52 
			 South West 1,576 54 
			
			 Local Education Authority   
			 Aberdeen City 62 47 
			 Aberdeenshire 72 50 
			 Angus 33 52 
			 Argyll and Bute 26 50 
			 Barking and Dagenham 70 71 
			 Barnet 98 47 
			 Barnsley 87 65 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 47 45 
			 Bedfordshire 130 54 
			 Bexley 84 63 
			 Birmingham 363 61 
			 Blackburn 51 62 
			 Blackpool 56 69 
			 Blaenau Gwent 31 76 
			 Bolton 88 55 
			 Bournemouth 53 55 
			 Bracknell Forest 37 52 
			 Bradford 177 62 
			 Brent 103 60 
			 Bridgend 46 59 
			 Brighton and Hove 70 43 
			 Bristol 116 48 
			 Bromley 96 53 
			 Buckinghamshire 141 48 
			 Bury 60 54 
			 Caerphilly 69 67 
			 Calderdale 69 58 
			 Cambridgeshire 179 51 
			 Camden 61 44 
			 Cardiff 92 48 
			 Carmarthenshire 61 61 
			 Ceredigion 24 50 
			 Cheshire 209 51 
			 City of London n/a n/a 
			 Clackmannanshire 17 58 
			 Conwy 38 62 
			 Cornwall 164 55 
			 Coventry 108 58 
			 Croydon 122 57 
			 Cumbria 167 58 
			 Darlington 34 59 
			 Denbighshire 32 59 
			 Derby 76 56 
			 Derbyshire 270 60 
			 Devon 212 52 
			 Doncaster 113 66 
			 Dorset 123 55 
			 Dudley 112 61 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 48 57 
			 Dundee City 43 51 
			 Durham 183 61 
			 Ealing 99 48 
			 East Ayrshire 43 59 
			 East Dunbartonshire 27 40 
			 East Lothian 28 50 
			 East Renfrewshire 20 35 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 104 55 
			 East Sussex 157 57 
			 Edinburgh, City of 115 39 
			 Eilean Siar 8 54 
			 Enfield 108 62 
			 Essex 507 64 
			 Falkirk 49 54 
			 Fife 112 52 
			 Flintshire 53 57 
			 Gateshead 71 61 
			 Glasgow City 202 55 
			 Gloucestershire 181 53 
			 Greater Peterborough 62 63 
			 Greenwich 79 57 
			 Gwynedd 38 54 
			 Hackney 82 60 
			 Halton 48 66 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 53 43 
			 Hampshire 384 51 
			 Haringey 82 55 
			 Harrow 68 50 
			 Hartlepool 35 66 
			 Havering 91 67 
			 Hereford 60 58 
			 Hertfordshire 316 50 
			 Highland 65 53 
			 Hillingdon 85 54 
			 Hounslow 79 57 
			 Inverclyde 27 53 
			 Isle of Anglesey 23 58 
			 Isle of Wight 43 59 
			 Islington 62 52 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 51 43 
			 Kent 457 57 
			 Kingston upon Hull 103 70 
			 Kingston upon Thames 37 37 
			 Kirklees 139 58 
			 Knowsley 65 72 
			 Lambeth 90 51 
			 Lancashire 376 55 
			 Leeds 232 52 
			 Leicester 113 65 
			 Leicestershire 212 55 
			 Lewisham 87 53 
			 Lincolnshire 223 58 
			 Liverpool 181 67 
			 Luton 71 62 
			 Manchester 141 56 
			 Medway Towns 102 65 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 24 70 
			 Merton 56 44 
			 Middlesbrough 51 63 
			 Midlothian 28 56 
			 Milton Keynes 83 59 
			 Monmouthshire 25 49 
			 Moray 30 59 
			 Neath Port Talbot 52 65 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 86 53 
			 Newham 106 68 
			 Newport 51 62 
			 Norfolk 287 61 
			 North Ayrshire 46 56 
			 North East Lincolnshire 65 71 
			 North Lanarkshire 117 58 
			 North Lincolnshire 55 60 
			 North Somerset 60 53 
			 North Tyneside 64 56 
			 North Yorkshire 164 49 
			 Northamptonshire 228 58 
			 Northumberland 108 58 
			 Nottingham 100 59 
			 Nottinghamshire 256 56 
			 Oldham 86 65 
			 Orkney Islands 6 52 
			 Oxfordshire 180 47 
			 Pembrokeshire 39 58 
			 Perth and Kinross 37 47 
			 Plymouth 87 59 
			 Poole 47 57 
			 Portsmouth 69 58 
			 Powys 45 61 
			 Reading 47 50 
			 Redbridge 93 60 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 54 65 
			 Renfrewshire 53 50 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 90 65 
			 Richmond upon Thames 45 38 
			 Rochdale 81 64 
			 Rotherham 96 63 
			 Royal Windsor/Maidenhead 38 45 
			 Rutland 10 48 
			 Salford 78 60 
			 Sandwell 118 70 
			 Scottish Borders, The 35 55 
			 Sefton 93 57 
			 Sheffield 177 56 
			 Shetland Islands 7 52 
			 Shropshire 93 56 
			 Slough 49 64 
			 Solihull 62 52 
			 Somerset 163 56 
			 South Ayrshire 35 54 
			 South Gloucestershire 76 50 
			 South Lanarkshire 107 57 
			 South Tyneside 56 62 
			 Southampton 77 55 
			 Southend 62 64 
			 Southwark 85 53 
			 St. Helens 65 60 
			 Staffordshire 293 59 
			 Stirling 24 44 
			 Stockport 93 54 
			 Stockton on Tees 65 59 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 102 70 
			 Suffolk 252 64 
			 Sunderland 114 67 
			 Surrey 307 47 
			 Sutton 64 56 
			 Swansea 72 54 
			 Swindon 66 58 
			 Tameside 87 66 
			 Telford and Wrekin 63 62 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 38 53 
			 Thurrock 66 72 
			 Torbay 44 61 
			 Torfaen 36 65 
			 Tower Hamlets 77 58 
			 Trafford 61 48 
			 Wakefield 126 65 
			 Walsall 99 66 
			 Waltham Forest 82 60 
			 Wandsworth 73 39 
			 Warrington 65 55 
			 Warwickshire 176 56 
			 West Berkshire 45 49 
			 West Dunbartonshire 33 58 
			 West Lothian 59 55 
			 West Sussex 232 53 
			 Westminster, City of 64 48 
			 Wigan 115 61 
			 Wiltshire 136 52 
			 Wirral 103 56 
			 Wokingham 40 41 
			 Wolverhampton 91 65 
			 Worcestershire 187 57 
			 Wrexham 51 64 
			 York 53 47 
		
	
	n/a = Sample size too small to provide a reliable figure.
	In October 2003 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) published 'The Skills for Life Survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills'. The survey assessed the literacy, numeracy and ICT skills of around 8000 adults aged 16 and above in England. The findings for the nine government office regions are shown in the following tables. The assessment levels correspond to the new literacy and numeracy core curriculum and National Standards: Level 1 is broadly equivalent to a lower grade GCSE (grade D-G) and Level 2 to a higher grade GCSE (A*-C).
	Overall around 16 per cent. of adults had literacy skills below Level 1: this varied between 21 per cent. in the north-east and 12 per cent. in the south-east. Likewise, 47 per cent. of adults had numeracy skills below Level 1 and this varied between 55 per cent. in the north-east and 40 per cent. in the south-east.
	
		Literacy level by government office region Percentage
		
			   Region 
			  Total North East London Yorks & Humber West Midlands 
		
		
			 Base: All respondents with literacy scores (7874) (881) (862) (883) (857) 
			 Entry level 1 or below 3 4 5 4 4 
			 Entry level 2 2 3 2 2 2 
			 Entry level 3 11 14 13 13 11 
			 Level 1 40 41 34 42 42 
			 Level 2 or above 44 37 46 39 41 
		
	
	
		Percentage
		
			  Region 
			  North West East Midlands South West East of England South East 
		
		
			 Base: All respondents with literacy scores (880) (761) (879) (749) (1122) 
			 Entry level 1 or below 4 3 2 2 2 
			 Entry level 2 2 2 3 1 1 
			 Entry level 3 12 10 9 9 8 
			 Level 1 42 41 40 40 37 
			 Level 2 or above 41 43 46 47 51 
		
	
	
		Numeracy level by Government office region Percentage
		
			   Region 
			  Total North East Yorks & Humber North West East Midlands 
		
		
			 Base: All respondents with numeracy scores (8040) (898) (923) (895) (785) 
			 Entry level 1 or below 5 6 6 6 6 
			 Entry level 2 16 22 17 19 16 
			 Entry level 3 25 27 28 24 27 
			 Level 1 28 24 28 28 27 
			 Level 2 or above 25 21 21 23 23 
		
	
	
		Percentage
		
			  Region 
			  South West London West Midlands East of England South East 
		
		
			 Base: All respondents with numeracy scores (889) (881) (865) (766) (1138) 
			 Entry level 1 or below 5 6 6 4 4 
			 Entry level 2 16 17 16 13 12 
			 Entry level 3 28 25 25 25 24 
			 Level 1 29 26 29 28 27 
			 Level 2 or above 23 25 24 30 32 
		
	
	Due to the survey sample size it is not possible to provide survey findings for the level of skills by local education authorities. However, the Department is currently working with Exeter university to generate a range of local level estimates (based on modelling techniques) to inform local planning and delivery in this key policy area. To date, estimates have been produced for Local Learning and Skills Councils (LLSCs), Districts and Wards. These estimates can be accessed on the Department's website at:
	www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus_skillsforlifesurvey/
	A copy of the survey report is in the House of Commons Library and on the DfES website:
	www.dfes.gov.uk

Binge Drinking

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are being taken in schools to promote awareness of the health implications of binge drinking.

Jacqui Smith: All maintained schools must provide drug education, including information about alcohol. There is scope within the frameworks for Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, PSHE at key stages 3 and 4 and the Citizenship programme of study at key stages 3 and 4 to explore the effects of binge drinking. Alcohol education in schools has an essential role to play in enabling pupils to develop their knowledge, skills, attitudes and understanding about alcohol.
	In 2004–05, we supported over 2,000 teachers in the PSHE certificate for teachers which sets standards in the teaching of drug and alcohol education. Up to 3,000 teachers will be supported in 2005–06.
	Together with the Home Office and Department of Health, we are supporting a national five year research programme called "Blueprint" to test the effectiveness of drug education initiatives in schools. It will make a significant contribution to developing a UK evidence base for drug, alcohol and tobacco education.

Broadband

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in each local education authority have broadband internet access.

Jacqui Smith: The Prime Minister announced the target to connect all schools to broadband by 2006 and we are on schedule to achieve this. As at end March 2005, 76 per cent. of schools in England were connected to broadband (73 per cent. of Primary schools and 99 per cent. of Secondary schools) compared to just one in eight in December 2001.
	A list of the percentage of schools that have broadband internet access as at 31 March 2005, by each local education authority, is as follows:
	
		Annex 1
		
			  Schools connected 
			 LEA Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Banes 66 77 
			 Barking 61 100 
			 Barnet 123 99 
			 Barnsley 100 98 
			 Bedfordshire 148 65 
			 Bexley 84 100 
			 Birmingham 443 100 
			 Blackburn with Darwin 47 57 
			 Blackpool 44 100 
			 Bolton 27 20 
			 Bournmouth 12 31 
			 Bracknell Forest 38 96 
			 Bradford 141 68 
			 Brent 87 99 
			 Brighton and Hove 72 96 
			 Bristol 113 69 
			 Bromley 102 100 
			 Buckinghamshire 68 28 
			 Bury 37 45 
			 Calderdale 49 48 
			 Cambridgeshire 233 91 
			 Camden 60 100 
			 Cheshire 273 78 
			 City of London 1 100 
			 Cornwall 208 75 
			 Coventry 119 99 
			 Croydon 128 95 
			 Cumbria 233 68 
			 Darlington 42 88 
			 Derby City 95 88 
			 Derbyshire 291 68 
			 Devon 237 64 
			 Doncaster 43 32 
			 Dorset 131 72 
			 Dudley 115 100 
			 Durham 169 55 
			 Ealing 81 89 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 150 94 
			 East Sussex 140 71 
			 Enfield 83 89 
			 Essex 237 40 
			 Gateshead 94 100 
			 Gloucestershire 228 73 
			 Greenwich 79 87 
			 Hackney 60 81 
			 Halton 49 72 
			 Hammersmith 51 91 
			 Hampshire 525 95 
			 Haringey 62 74 
			 Harrow 70 99 
			 Hartlepool 40 100 
			 Havering 90 100 
			 Herefordshire 104 99 
			 Hertfordshire 529 94 
			 Hillingdon 70 78 
			 Hounslow 85 100 
			 Isle of Wight 61 86 
			 Islington 45 79 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 38 100 
			 Kent 287 46 
			 Kingston 23 43 
			 Kingston upon Hull 42 40 
			 Kirklees MBC 44 22 
			 Knowsley 78 100 
			 Lambeth 78 88 
			 Lancashire 420 64 
			 Leeds 5 100 
			 Leicester City 60 52 
			 Leicestershire 165 56 
			 Lewisham 90 100 
			 Lincolnshire 227 59 
			 Liverpool 209 100 
			 Luton 58 69 
			 Manchester 185 100 
			 Meadway 113 100 
			 Merton 54 98 
			 Middlesbrough 55 100 
			 Milton Keynes 103 95 
			 Newcastle 103 100 
			 Newham 86 93 
			 Norfolk 266 58 
			 Northamptonshire 237 66 
			 North East Lincolnshire 73 96 
			 North Lincolnshire 66 77 
			 North Somerset 55 68 
			 North Tyneside 81 100 
			 North Yorkshire 216 55 
			 Northumberland 97 46 
			 Nottingham City 76 55 
			 Nottinghamshire 234 62 
			 Oldham 70 59 
			 Oxfordshire 292 99 
			 Peterborough 75 96 
			 Plymouth 94 86 
			 Poole 43 100 
			 Portsmouth 69 95 
			 R.B. Windsor and Maidenhead 64 97 
			 Reading 6 11 
			 Redbridge 75 100 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 64 100 
			 Richmond on Thames 18 34 
			 Rochdale 101 100 
			 Rotherham 130 95 
			 Rutland 12 55 
			 Salford 100 91 
			 Sandwell 129 100 
			 Sefton 122 100 
			 Sheffield 51 27 
			 Shropshire 167 100 
			 Slough 38 81 
			 Solihull 40 45 
			 Somerset 135 49 
			 Southampton 64 74 
			 Southend on Sea 57 100 
			 South Gloucestershire 114 100 
			 South Tyneside 72 100 
			 Southwark 90 87 
			 Staffordshire 267 64 
			 St Helens 73 95 
			 Stockport 120 92 
			 Stockton 86 100 
			 Stoke 107 100 
			 Suffolk 130 37 
			 Sunderland 120 100 
			 Surrey 382 93 
			 Sutton 30 49 
			 Swindon 83 100 
			 Tameside 103 100 
			 Telford and Wrekin 87 100 
			 Thurrock 59 100 
			 Torbay 41 91 
			 Tower Hamlets 96 96 
			 Trafford 94 95 
			 Wakefield 125 80 
			 Walsall 129 100 
			 Waltham Forest 88 97 
			 Wandsworth 80 99 
			 Warrington 90 100 
			 Warwickshire 156 61 
			 West Berkshire 49 57 
			 Westminster 56 100 
			 West Sussex 185 62 
			 Wigan 145 100 
			 Wiltshire 188 71 
			 Wirral 131 95 
			 Wokingham 59 92 
			 Wolverhampton 117 100 
			 Worcestershire 145 53 
			 York 67 96

Bullying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her answer of 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 472W, on bullying, what the (a) membership, (b) funding for 2005–06 from her Department and (c) terms of reference are of the (i) Youth Crime Programme Board, (ii) Crime Reduction Delivery Board, (iii) Penalty Notices for Disorder operational working group, (iv) Prolific and Other Priority Offenders Programme Board and (v) Safer Schools Partnership steering group; what work each has commissioned; and how often each have met since being established.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is as follows:
	(i) Youth Crime Programme Board (YCPB)
	(a) Membership—chaired by DfES, YCPB brings together key stakeholders from across DfES: Preventing Youth Offending; Improving Behaviour and Attendance Unit; Looked After Children; Positive Programmes; Offenders Learning and Skills Unit; Families Division and PSHE and Citizenship. Home Office: Head of Youth Crime; Juvenile Offenders Unit; Treatment of Young People and Drugs Unit; Violent Crime and Crime Reduction. Youth Justice Board: Director of Policy. Government Offices for the Regions and Department of Health.
	(b) Funding from DfES 2005–06—there is no specific DfES funding.
	(c) Terms of reference—to:
	act as the key forum across Government for making policy decisions on cross-cutting issues relating to youth crime;
	develop an understanding of the DfES contribution to youth crime and how that may be maximised;
	provide support and challenge for policies relating to youth crime in DfES/HO/ Youth Justice Board (YJB);
	identify and contribute to the resolution of risks and issues relating to youth crime policy; and
	agree issues, risks and progress to be communicated to the Change for Children Programme Board and the Home Office Crime Reduction Delivery Board.
	(d) Work commissioned—The main purpose of the board is not to commission work but to ensure that relevant Government policies are joined up. However, the board have also commissioned work to look at the risks associated with the onset of offending and how DfES' existing policies impact on these. It also proposed an anti-robbery week in schools called 'Stay Safe' which subsequently took place in January 2005.
	(e) How often met—first met July 2004 and has met five times since.
	(ii) Crime Reduction Delivery Board
	(a) Membership—chaired by the Home Office, is a cross-departmental group of officials and stakeholders established in May 2003 to drive forward and give strategic focus to multi-agency efforts to reduce all forms of crime, including anti-social behaviour. This group includes representatives from frontline delivery services as well as Department of Health, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Youth Justice Board, DfES and others.
	(b) Funding from DfES 2005–06—there is no specific DfES funding.
	(c) Terms of reference—to:
	receive and agree an all-source assessment of current crime trends/issues in relation to Home Office crime reduction PSAs and commission action where necessary;
	issue a regular report on that assessment to the Home Secretary;
	monitor performance in respect of crime targets and levels of public confidence in crime reduction;
	take papers at each meeting on one or at most two key issues;
	agree the contribution of the police, local government, other Government Departments and other agencies in reducing crime and increasing public confidence; and
	ensure that crime reduction implications are taken into account in work across the criminal justice system and in other Government Departments.
	(d) Work commissioned—from time to time commissions papers or work from Board members. Recent commissions have included work that led to the establishment of the Prolific and Other Priority Offenders Strategy, a report on knife crime leading to the inclusion of knife crime measures in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill currently before Parliament, and the work on alcohol fuelled crime, which has led to the recent initiatives by the licensed trade around promotions such as happy hours.
	(e) How often met—monthly.
	(iii) Operational Working Group for the 10–15s Penalty Notices for Disorder
	(a) Membership—representatives from the seven police forces taking part in the pilot, representatives from DfES, Department of Health, Crown Prosecution Service, Children's Society, Department for Constitutional Affairs, Youth Justice Board and Police Information Technology Organisation.
	(b) Funding from DfES 2005–06—there is no specific DfES funding.
	(c) Terms of reference—to develop the operational processing guidance for the PNDs specifically tailored for the 10–15 age group and have an overview of the start of issuing of the tickets.
	(d) Work commissioned—commissioned the Penalty Notices for Disorder tickets template, the draft operational guidance and an evaluation report (both quantitative and qualitative) from Research, Development & Statistics (RDS). The RDS report will cover the first year of the 10–15s PNDs being issued and will produce an interim report after six months and a final report at the end of the first year.
	(e) How often met—first met on 6 February 2004, and has met five times since then (March, July, October, December 2004 and February 2005. The May 2005 meeting has recently been rescheduled for August.
	(iv) Prolific and other Priority Offenders Programme Board
	(a) Membership—chaired by Leigh Lewis, Home Office Permanent Secretary for Crime, Policing, Counter Terrorism and Delivery. Membership comprises senior representation from the key stakeholders involved in delivering the strategy. Attendees are from a sufficiently high level so as to ensure they have the full authority to take decisions on behalf of the organisation they represent.
	(b) Funding from DfES 2005–06—there is no specific DfES funding.
	(c) Terms of reference—to provide strategic leadership to implement the Prolific and other Priority Offenders strategy; ensuring that risks are identified and actively managed and taking proactive steps to identify and correct blockages at a senior level across all stakeholders.
	(d) Work commissioned—has ensured that all areas of England and Wales have set up a Prolific and other Priority Offenders scheme and that the schemes are actively engaging with their client groups to reduce crime. The board has ensured that this has been delivered locally through mainstream resources.
	(e) How often met—once each month since 22 March 2004.
	(v) Safer School Partnership Steering Group
	(a) Membership—attended by the projects' partners; the Home Office, Youth Justice Board and ACPO (Association of Chief Police Offices), ConfEd (Confederation of Education and Children's Services Managers), Local Government Association, police officers and head teachers.
	(b) Funding from DfES 2005–06—Funding for financial year 2005–06 is still under negotiation. Equivalent amount of the last financial year—£300,000 has been earmarked.
	(c) Terms of reference—The original terms of reference for the steering group in 2002 were to oversee the development and implementation of the Safer School Partnerships (police in schools) strand of the Behaviour Improvement Package. This aims to agree partnerships involving 100 police officers based in schools by end September 2002. These are to be in police force areas among the 10 "high crime" areas in England. This has been delivered and more recent figures show that there are now over 400 SSPs across England.
	(d) Work commissioned—DfES has commissioned:
	(1) Work to pull together examples of good practice on introducing SSPs—subsequently published in October 2004.
	(2) University of York to produce a SSP Mainstreaming Report. Draft report complete in April 2005.
	(3) Funds Crime Concern to provide monitoring and support to SSPs
	The Youth Justice Board has commissioned:
	(1) PRB (Public Policy Research Bureau) to produce a national evaluation for year 2002/03. This was published in November 2004.
	(2) University of York to produce a national evaluation for year 2003/04, to be published in July 2005.
	(e) How often met—every month in the first year and then had bi-monthly meetings. Since its establishment the group has met 23 times. The four partners meet regularly to discuss issues.

Bullying

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 472W, on bullying and anti-social behaviour, if she will list the (a) published research and (b) statistics to which she refers.

Jacqui Smith: From the Department's Statistical First Release data on exclusions from school, we know that there is an association between a school's permanent exclusion rate and its pupils' GCSE attainment: generally those schools with high permanent exclusion rates tend to have lower levels of pupil attainment.
	Source:
	DfES (2004) Permanent Exclusions from Maintained Schools in England, 2002/2003' DfES Statistical First Release SFR 42/2004.
	From the NFER Excellence in Cities (EiC) Attendance Analysis, we know that once pupil, school and background characteristics are taken into account, there is an association between absence rates and pupil attainment. The research shows that higher than average absence levels were associated with reduced GCSE attainment (especially for boys) and KS3 English attainment.
	Source:
	Morris & Rutt (2004) 'Analysis of Pupil Attendance Data in Excellence in Cities (EiC) Areas: An Interim Report' DfES Research Report RR571.
	In terms of bullying, although the Department has not commissioned research specifically to look at the impact of bullying on attainment, we did commission a research review on homophobic bullying, which looked at the prevalence and impact of this on young people. The research concluded that homophobic bullying had negative impacts such as absence from school, limited achievement and lower staying on rates.
	Source:
	Warwick, Chase, Aggleton & Sanders (2004) 'Homophobia, Sexual Orientation and Schools: a review and implications for action' DfES Research Report RR594.
	Furthermore, the 2003 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) work co-ordinated by the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) showed that 88 per cent. of UK headteachers thought that the learning of students was hindered a little or "to some extent" by students intimidating or bullying other students.
	It must be noted that the relationships between bullying, truancy, exclusion, social exclusion, and negative outcomes such as poor attainment and poor behaviour are complex and difficult to analyse.

Mathematics

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines accompany the Framework for Teaching Mathematics: Reception to Year 6 document.

Jacqui Smith: A range of documents have been produced that develop further the guidance set out in the Framework. Key guidance documents include "Mathematical Vocabulary" which lists the important vocabulary for all year groups; "Teaching Mental Calculation Strategies; Teaching Written Calculations" and sample medium-term lesson plans to demonstrate to teachers how to plan for progression in mathematics.

Nutrition

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will recommend that the School Food Trust consider the NVQ approach to work-based assessment of nutritional competence at levels 1 to 4.

Jacqui Smith: We are working with People 1st (the sector skills council for the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries), the Food Standards Agency, the Teacher Training Agency, the Learning and Skills Council and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to review and build on the range of catering qualifications that are currently available, including NVQs. Our aim is to ensure that we have a ladder of qualifications that include information on nutritional standards where appropriate, meet the skills needs of all catering staff, and support progression from the level 1 VRQ.

Overseas Students

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many EU students commenced courses at English universities in each year since 1997, broken down by member state; and how much was paid by them in tuition fees in each of those years.

Bill Rammell: The two tables given in this answer give data from different sources and hence the two sets of figures are not comparable.
	The available information on the number of EU domiciled entrants to full time undergraduate courses at English HE institutions is given in the following table.
	
		EU domiciled entrants1,2,3 to full time undergraduate courses at English HE institutions for academic years 1997/98 to 2003/04
		
			 Domicile 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 
		
		
			 Austria 355 410 380 410 340 370 405 
			 Belgium 580 600 615 570 530 505 565 
			 Denmark 525 575 545 480 485 490 465 
			 Finland 990 1,030 845 740 655 575 575 
			 France 4,465 5,320 5,075 4,775 4,425 4,370 4,645 
			 Germany 3,785 4,615 4,400 4,285 3,775 3,765 3,815 
			 Gibraltar 130 165 150 200 140 140 140 
			 Greece 6,500 5,925 5,120 4,230 3,030 2,415 1,905 
			 Irish Republic 2,145 2,035 1,670 1,275 1,220 1,225 1,400 
			 Italy 1,325 1,615 1,645 1,605 1,505 1,500 1,395 
			 Luxembourg 130 140 140 155 135 140 140 
			 Netherlands 595 790 720 615 500 555 530 
			 Portugal 450 440 455 445 450 440 510 
			 Spain 2,505 3,045 3,025 2,870 2,885 2,715 2,850 
			 Sweden 1,330 1,405 1,320 1,175 995 930 890 
			 Total EU 25,815 28,105 26,105 23,835 21,070 20,135 20,230 
		
	
	(38) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and so totals may not sum.
	(39) Figures include entrants to 1st degree, foundation degree, HND/C, Diploma of HE and other undergraduate diplomas, certificates and credits.
	(40) HESA entrant figures are not directly comparable to accepted applicant figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) due to differences in coverage.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record
	The amount of private contributions to tuition fees by students from the European Union in HE in English institutions from academic year 1999/2000 to 2003/04 is given in the following table.
	
		Private contributions to tuition fees by students domiciled in the European Union studying higher education in England for academic years 1999/2000(41) to 2003/04(42)
		
			 Academic year £ million 
		
		
			 1999/2000 6.7 
			 2000/01 7.6 
			 2001/02 6.1 
			 2002/03 5.7 
			 2003/04 5.5 
		
	
	(41) Tuition fees were introduced in academic year 1998/99, however as that year was treated as a transitional year, data are not available on the same basis as subsequent years.
	(42) Latest year for which data are available.
	Source:
	Student Loans Company

Overseas Students

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from EU member states applied for entry to English universities in 2004–05; and how many were offered a place, broken down by EU member state.

Bill Rammell: The available information is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which covers applicants and accepted applicants to full time first degree, HMD, Diploma of HE and Foundation degree courses at UCAS member institutions. Figures are given in the table.
	
		EU domiciled applicants1, 2 and accepted applicants tofull-time undergraduate courses at English institutions by domicile, 2004 entry Number
		
			 Country of domicile Applicants Accepted applicants 
		
		
			 Austria 335 195 
			 Belgium 635 405 
			 Denmark 430 255 
			 Finland 585 300 
			 France 2,980 1,595 
			 Germany 2,605 1,395 
			 Gibralter 220 165 
			 Greece 2,250 1,370 
			 Irish Republic 7,180 1,510 
			 Italy 865 440 
			 Luxembourg 230 130 
			 Netherlands 490 240 
			 Portugal 680 325 
			 Spain 1,090 645 
			 Sweden 1,235 590 
			 Total EU 21,805 9,560 
			
			 Cyprus 1,875 1,295 
			 Czech Republic 205 135 
			 Estonia 65 45 
			 Hungary 160 100 
			 Latvia 75 45 
			 Lithuania 95 55 
			 Malta 65 35 
			 Poland 675 445 
			 Slovakia 135 90 
			 Slovenia 55 30 
			 Total EU accession countries 3,410 2,270 
			
			 Total All EU 25,215 11,830 
		
	
	(43) Figures have been rounded to the nearest five so totals may not sum.
	(44) Although the majority of applicants apply through UCAS, it is possible to apply direct to the institution.
	Source:
	Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

School Building

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on repairs to school buildings in Gloucestershire in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: Revenue expenditure figures on the maintenance and improvement of schools are likely to vary from year to year depending on the unique circumstances of a particular LEA. For example, revenue expenditure will increase in years where there have been adverse weather conditions (e.g. repairing storm damage) and is also likely to vary with the number and age of the school buildings within the LEA. Revenue expenditure will also be affected by the amounts of capital expenditure employed at a school. Capital spending in Gloucestershire LEA on school buildings has increased from £7.95 million in 1997–98 to £36.78 million in 2004–05.
	The information concerning public funding spent on repairing schools in Gloucestershire is contained within the following table:
	Maintenance and improvement of school buildings and grounds in Gloucestershire LEA since
	
		
			  £ 1 
			  
		
		
			 1997–982,3 3,712,000 
			 1998–992,3 4,307,000 
			   
			 1999–20002,3 10,756,000 
			 2000–012,3 9,490,000 
			 2001–022,3 9,307,000, 
			   
			 2002–032,3 5,259,000 
			 2003–042,3 5,446,000 
		
	
	(50) Figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000.
	(51) Figures for 1997–98 to 2001–02 cover the repair and maintenance of buildings, fixed plant and grounds which includes all expenditure on non-capital building works, including repairs and maintenance of buildings, and non-capital expenditure on fixed plant and grounds. Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 are the combination of the revenue expenditure on building (including fixed plant) maintenance and improvement and grounds maintenance and improvement (CFR categories E12+E13). Any capital expenditure on school buildings is not included in this table.
	(52) Figures for 2002–03 onwards will not be directly comparable with the figures for earlier years as figures for 1997–98 to 2001–02 are for all LEA maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools (pre-primary expenditure accounts for £8,500, £15,000 and £138,000 of the respective totals in 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02) while nursery figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 are not available and have therefore been excluded for these two years. Also, for some LEAs, expenditure that had previously been attributed to the school sectors was reported within the LEA part of the form in 2002–03 and 2003–04 and would therefore be excluded from the totals for those years although the precise amount of this is not quantifiable from existing sources.
	Notes:
	1. The blank rows denote the change of source from LEAs' education Revenue Outturn Statements submitted to ODPM to Section 52 Outturn Statements in 1999–2000, and to the review of the Section 52 categories in 2002–03 following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) to schools.
	2. The Department is due to collect the figures for 2004–05 in October 2005.